Twenty-Two
by fictionalwhims
Summary: College AU! Jess is studying law at UCLA, but all she's ever wanted is to be a teacher. Her best friend is breaking out as a model and her boyfriend is a sexy med student, but she still feels like something is wrong. When she meets fellow law student Nick Miller, he encourages her to follow her passion. Is she ready to go after what she wants? And does that include him?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** This AU takes place while Jess is in her third year of college. She's studying law at UCLA, but all she's ever wanted is to be a teacher, and law school is killing her. Her best friend is breaking out as a model and her boyfriend is a sexy med student, but she still feels like something is wrong. She's trying to figure out what to do when she meets Nick Miller, a fellow third year law student. He seems just as unsettled as her, and despite their very different outlooks, they start to become friends. He's encouraging her to throw off her responsibilities and chase her passions, but she isn't sure she's ready...or if what to do about the feelings she has for him.

 **Title:** Definitely borrowed from the Taylor Swift song "22," because I love the scene from 2.16 when Nick dances to it...but also because it fits what Jess is going through in this story.

 **Pairings:** Ness  & Schmece

* * *

 **Twenty-Two.  
** **Chapter One.**

Jessica Day was twenty **-** one, about to start her third year of law school at UCLA, and miserable.

She wasn't miserable as a regular rule. In fact, she'd been voted Person Most Likely To Cheer You Up all four years of high school, a title she was still proud of (Cece thought they should leave high school behind them, but Jess couldn't help it). It was just…law school. It was killing her. It wasn't that she wasn't smart enough, or driven enough – she was one of the best 2Ls last year. She was clever, organized, and outgoing. She had everything she needed to be a successful lawyer. She also had the greatest, most beautiful best friend in the world in Cece, and she was living in glamorous, beautiful Los Angeles.

She was miserable because she did not want to become a lawyer. At all.

At this point, it was probably too late to switch majors without setting herself way back, and of course she couldn't afford the extra semesters she'd need to graduate with anything other than a law degree…but she just couldn't imagine herself working at some firm, spending all of her time digging through people's worst baggage or else helping companies get out of being sued for insane amounts of money.

Her whole life, she'd wanted to work with kids. Or have kids. Or both. It didn't really matter, so long as kids were in the picture. She'd just assumed that she'd be a teacher or run a day care. But when it had come time to apply to college, her father had been very firm: his little girl was far too smart to slave away for terrible pay and sub-par healthcare. Nothing she'd said had swayed him, and weeks of tears hadn't changed his mind either. So in the end, desperate for his help to pay for college, she'd accepted his terms: pre-law or medical school.

Which left her in her present predicament.

It wasn't all bad, of course. She lived with Cece in an apartment not far from campus. Cece had already been a model for three years and was doing pretty well for herself. Her model friends often crashed too, and while Jess didn't exactly fit in with that crowd, she had to admit that she was learning a lot about fake eyelashes and fashionable footwear from them. Plus her boyfriend Sam was tall, gorgeous and in his last year of UCLA's medical school.

She took a deep breath and shoved her misgivings aside. Nothing in her life was that bad, she just needed to find a different way to look at it. She wasn't sure how she was going to do that yet, but it would come to her. Jessica Day was never down for long, no ma'am.

She hummed to herself, trying to perk up as she entered her lecture hall and found a seat. She just had to make it through this class and then she could hang out with Cece or, even better, make out with Sam.

The lecture hall wasn't anywhere near full by the time the professor strode in. At this point, many of the students she'd started with had disappeared, just as her teachers had predicted they would. And others had moved on into different specialties. Jess had decided to focus on General law, but Business law was a particularly popular choice, at least for the other 3Ls this year.

The professor had been talking to them for about ten minutes when the door behind Jess opened. Someone was late, and while the professor didn't seem to be bothered, several of the other students glanced up curiously. A young man strode in without a shred of apology for his tardiness. He'd managed to look slightly disheveled even though his clothes were simple and neat. He had stubble and sleepy eyes, and he looked about as bored with this whole law-school routine as Jess felt. She recognized him, although they'd never spoken. He was Nick Miller, kind of the bad-boy of their year, and she knew a few of the girls in class had die-hard crushes on him.

He slid into a seat in her aisle, leaving a couple of empty chairs between them, and settled in for the lecture without even bothering to pull out his notes. Jess thought about offering him hers so he could catch up, but decided against it. He didn't look like he was too concerned about it. She pulled her eyes away from him, straightened her shoulders, and tried to focus on the professor. Focus didn't last too long, however. She'd never been this close to Nick Miller before, and she peeked at him again. She could see now why the girls in her class liked him. He had that kind of sexy-without-trying thing going on, and he gave off this _vibe_ , like he had everything figured out already and he was just going through the motions.

He glanced at her, caught her staring, and gave her a quick smirk. A blush immediately flooded her cheeks and she whipped her head forward again. What was w _rong_ with her? Why couldn't she focus today? And what would Sam say if he could see her ogling some unimpressed law student?

She pictured her boyfriend's handsome face, especially that big smile of his, and didn't look at Nick again throughout the rest of the lecture.

 **-22-**

By the time class was over, Jess thought she was ready to scale the walls of the lecture hall using her fingernails. She burst out of the room into the bright sunlight, breathing in deeply. She wouldn't exactly call the air in Los Angeles _fresh_ , but it was nice to be outside again. It was another perfect day, and she tilted her head back to feel the sun on her face.

A hand came down on her shoulder, causing her to jump. Her eyes flew open and she turned to see Nick Miller standing just behind her. She blushed again, wondering what he must think of her after catching her staring and then sunning herself like a cat.

"You left this in there." He was holding out one of her books. She scooped it out of his hands.

"Oh, uh, thanks—"

"Don't blame you for wanting to get the hell out of there," he said, studying her face without shame. He had a slight accent she couldn't quite place.

"Yeah. Boring, right? _Mr Peters is soooooo dullllllll_ ," she sang, and then clamped her mouth shut when he stared at her in confusion. She reminded herself that not everyone burst into song at the slightest provocation, and if there was anyone less likely to join in a musical refrain than Nick Miller, she couldn't think of them.

"Right." He shook his head, and he must have hit his weird limit because he fell silent after that. "Well, uh. Glad I caught you. See you around."

"Definitely. Because we're both in this class. So I'll see you soon. I have a boyfriend named Sam." Why couldn't she stop rambling? She could feel how wide her eyes had gotten and she somehow managed to shut up.

Nick surprised her by laughing. "Yeah, okay. See you soon, Sam's girlfriend," he said, and then he turned and strode away.

"I'm…Jess," she murmured as he walked away, thinking she probably should have led with that instead of the singing. With a big sigh, she tucked her book into her bag and headed for the parking lot. She was definitely ready for some drinks and hopefully some hot make-out action with Sam.

 **-22-**

Cece was already home when Jessica walked through the door, dumping all of her bags onto the ground and then rushing to throw herself onto the couch. Cece was completely unfazed by her dramatics. She strode over to the couch and perched herself on the edge of one of the cushions, rubbing Jess's back in soothing circles.

"Okay, what happened?" she asked, addressing the back of her friend's head.

"I'm so embarrassing!" Jess cried, her voice extremely muffled by the couch cushions. "Nick Miller talked to me and I sang about how boring class was!"

Cece didn't have the slightest idea who 'Nick Miller' was, but she made sympathetic noises and kept rubbing Jess's back. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"No, it was. He looked at me like I'm crazy."

"I might have just the thing to cheer you up," Cece said, and Jess emerged at last from the depths of the couch.

"What?" she asked, pushing long strands of hair out of her face.

"A frat party!" Cece beamed at her. "Tonight at nine. I already texted Sam and he said he'd meet us there. Our first frat party this year, Jess! It'll be fun!"

"How is it that you don't even go to school here and you still get invited to more parties than me?" Jess complained, but Cece knew she wasn't really upset.

"Perks of being a model," she said, waving a hand. "Let's pick out something to wear!"

Jess allowed herself to be pulled into Cece's room. She didn't really feel like going to a frat party, but Cece thrived in that environment and she thought she could probably use a distraction. School had really been getting her down and her antics today were still heavy on her mind. Getting drunk and dancing to pop songs she didn't recognize sounded like just what she needed.

"Okay, so I think for you we should go with something like…slutty off-duty nurse," Cece said, rummaging through her closet. Jess burst out laughing.

"With an extra side of slutty," she insisted, and then paused. "What exactly does an off-duty nurse look like?"

Cece shrugged and held up a tiny bundle of red fabric that Jess supposed was a dress. "I thought we'd go for a medical thing for Sam. I'm sure he's into the hot nurse thing."

"I mean, who isn't? 'I hope you're ready for your sponge bath, Sir…'" Jess mussed her hair up, going for sexy bed-head, and she pouted at her friend in what she no doubt thought was a seductive manner. Cece patted her shoulder and told her to stop it.

"Save it for your boyfriend," she said, tweaking the end of one of Jess's curls. "Go put this on and I'll pick out some makeup. And Jess? _No flats!_ "

"Got it!" Jess bounced off in the direction of her room, feeling much better. She was going to get a little drunk and a little weird and hopefully she and Sam would fool around and she could forget about embarrassing herself in front of the popular kid. No one cared how weird you got at a frat party – getting weird was the whole point. Or at least drunk.

She managed to pull the dress on, although it fought her every step of the way. It was short and tight and she was pretty sure that she'd have to wear a thong underneath…even though she was going for slutty off-duty nurse, she wasn't brave enough to forgo panties entirely. By the time she'd dug out some heels to go with it and returned to Cece's room, her friend had also changed and was working on her makeup. She was wearing something strapless and pink and she looked gorgeous. Jess whistled when she saw her.

"Watch out, frat boys," she said, and then howled like a cartoon wolf. Cece threw a pillow at her. No matter what, Jess knew she was lucky to have such a great best friend.

 **-22-**

The party was in full swing by the time Jess and Cece arrived. It had spilled out into the front yard, where a bunch of guys were trying to surf a mattress down the hill that sloped down to the main road. The mattress didn't slide very well and every time someone wiped out a huge cheer went up. Jess winced as a guy face planted hard in the grass. Everyone else was chanting, "Winnie! Winnie!" which she guessed must be his nickname. He was slowly getting up when Cece pulled her into the house.

It was packed and they slid their way through the crowd toward the kitchen to get some drinks. There was a dark haired guy standing on the counter, setting some shots on fire. He downed several of them in rapid succession, then leapt down and yelled, "Parkour!" He was a bigger guy, but she could tell by his clothes that he used to be really heavy and had made a lot of progress losing weight. It made Jess proud of him even though he was a total stranger.

"Stop yelling 'parkour,' Schmidt! That's not parkour!" came a familiar voice, and Jess whirled around to see Nick Miller standing on the other side of the kitchen counter, shaking his head.

 _Of course_ he was at this frat party, _of course._ And of course she hadn't even had a drink yet to fortify herself. She spun away, hoping he hadn't spotted her, and crashed right into Cece.

"He's here!" she hissed.

"Who's here?" Cece asked, glancing around the room.

"Nick Miller!" Jess grabbed Cece's wrist because she was holding drinks, trying to tug her out of the room before Nick realized that the weird girl from class was here, but before they could make their escape, the dark haired guy from the counter appeared and blocked the door.

"Hello, I'm Schmidt and you are a caramel goddess, would you like a shot?" he said to Cece.

"Oh God." Jess pulled her hair in front of her face to disguise herself as Schmidt took the drinks out of Cece's hand and passed her a shot glass.

"Okay, I'll do a shot," Cece said, and Schmidt cheered her on as she poured liquor down her throat. Jess peered around anxiously for another exit, but before she spotted one, she felt a hand close on her shoulder. She knew who it was without turning around.

"Hey, Sam's girlfriend." She turned to see Nick smirking at her.

"Hey, Nick Miller." She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"You're not some kind of crazy stalker, are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"When we were 1Ls, Professor Walsh chewed you out for being a smartass. It made an impression," she said. Nick rubbed the back of his neck and nodded.

"Sounds like me." He shrugged. "Walsh is a dumbass."

"Succinctly put. I'm Jess. I mean, I _am_ Sam's girlfriend, but I'm also Jess." She stuck her hand out, and he stared at it with an eyebrow raised. Clearly handshakes weren't frat-party protocol, but a moment later he gave her a firm shake.

"Well, hi Jess. Good to meet you."

"You too. Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. I like to sing, so sometimes when I'm nervous it just kind of happens and—"

Before she could finish, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against a familiar chest.

"Hey sexy," Sam murmured in her ear. She turned to put her arms around Sam and kiss him. Nick averted his eyes, looking a little awkward as they greeted each other with their tongues.

"Sam, this is Nick. Nick, this is Sam."

"The infamous Sam." Though Nick said it with a smile, he managed to make it sound kind of like an insult, and cocked her head in confusion at the coolness of his tone. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Sam said, nodding to him but also clearly dismissing him. "Come on, Jess. I like your dress…let's go back to my place so I can take it off of you."

"Oh, okay…" Jess glanced back at Nick. "Good to see you again."

"You too, Jess," he said, staring at her. There was something in his gaze, something a little predatory, but that was silly. They'd barely ever spoken to each other, so there was no way he was jealous…right?

She had to work very hard not to think about him as Sam drove her back to his dorm.

* * *

 **AN:** Who doesn't love a jealous Nick? I hope you'll let me know what you think by leaving a review, and I'll see you in Chapter 2!


	2. Chapter 2

**Some quick notes:** Thank you so much for your warm response to this story! It was really great to read everyone's thoughts! It really is motivating and very appreciated.

One of the guest reviewers said they wouldn't mind a rating change. That probably _will_ happen at some point, I'm not sure when, but I've already written one scene for later in the story that might push it up to "M," so yeah…I'll be sure to let everyone know when that happens.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy chapter 2, and thank you again!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two.  
** **Chapter Two.**

Jess was already awake by the time Cece stumbled out of her bedroom, clutching her head. She didn't even have her eyes open, and she was a little pale. Without a word, Jess poured her roommate some fresh coffee. She was in the middle of making veggie omelets for breakfast, although she wasn't at all sure Cece would be able to eat hers. She was definitely in the grip of a massive hangover. It was only Tuesday, but while Jess did have a class to attend, Cece probably had the day off.

She'd made Sam take her back to her apartment last night. They'd gone to his place and made out, there had definitely been some heavy petting, but in the end she said she needed to be up early. Sam had grumbled a little bit, but only a little bit. Then he'd taken her back to her place. After that, Jess had gone to her room and lied down, but she hadn't slept. She had a lot on her mind.

Typically, at this point in one's law school career, there were less courses to take…in fact, she was definitely going to need to find some sort of internship or something, so she could do some practical work in preparation for the Bar exam. She hadn't even looked yet, and she was starting to feel very, very guilty. Her father was helping her a lot with the tuition, and while they had definitely had to take out loans to cover costs, she was still wasting what cash he could spare. She needed to get serious. She couldn't procrastinate anymore.

Decision made, she'd gotten up way too early. She'd already showered, dressed, gone for a walk and rewritten the notes from her last lecture, and when she thought Cece might be close to waking, she'd started breakfast.

"How are you so perky?" Cece's words were more of a groan than anything else.

"I left that party w _ay_ earlier than you." Jess was trying to speak quietly, but her friend still winced. "Looks like you had fun, you crazy party animal."

"Yeah...Schmidt kept feeding me shots." She managed to get one eye open to peek at Jess. "I didn't even know there was such a thing as a monkey brain shot, but there is. It's good. I had waaaayyyyyyy too many of them."

"So Schmidt has some bartending skills? I mean, it's good he's diversifying because his parkour isn't very good."

"Noooooo, Nick made the shots. He knows a lot of drinks, actually. Seriously Jess, I've never seen anyone drink like Schmidt before. It was like he just _couldn't get drunk."_

"Oh no, oh noooooo…Cece, you didn't try to out drink him did you? You know that you have the body mass of a swan…there's no way you're going to win against anyone but a fourth grader, and that's illegal."

Cece tried to swat at her, but she still only had one eye open and she missed by a mile. Jess pushed the mug into her limited field of vision and Cece made a noise of deep gratitude.

"Well, I'm happy you had fun."

Cece made a noise of agreement from deep within her coffee mug, and Jess grinned as she turned back to her skillet. She'd kind of wished she'd stayed at the party longer. A shot or two more and she might even have tried the mattress surfing, although she was generally pretty clumsy. She'd had a good time with Sam, but she didn't go to parties very often and she kind of felt like she'd missed out. She didn't usually want to go to them, especially the frat versions, but when she was tempted she usually had a great time. She needed that sort of chaotic fun, especially after deciding she'd be looking for an internship.

"Maybe we could go to another one," she said offhandedly. Cece moaned in protest, but that was probably due to her hangover. Without Jess to remind her to drink water, she usually overdid it.

"That guy, Schmidt…he's in two frats. He kept calling me his Shakti, so I'm sure he'll let me know when the next party is." She dragged herself to the coffee pot to refill her mug, mostly feeling her way to the correct counter. "Ughhhh but I hope it's not for a week or two."

"Okay, awesome. Good." Then she grinned devilishly at her best friend. "His Shakti, huh?"

"Stop it."

"I mean, he looked up Hindu goddesses to impress you."

"He glanced at a Wikipedia article. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Okayyyy…but you guys _would_ be a cute couple…"

"Ugh, Jess, please. I'm begging you, stop."

" _Schmidt and Cece, you wanna touch his pee-pee…"_ Jess sang, and then ran into her bedroom as Cece erupted in rage behind her. She was still grinning when she headed to class, with Cece's vehement denials trailing after her.

 **-22-**

Nick woke up in degrees. He knew he should get ready for class, but he really, _really_ didn't want to. There were days when he wasn't sure what the hell he'd been thinking when he'd enrolled here at UCLA. Usually all he had to do was think about his father and that firmed up his resolve, but there were times when that wasn't enough.

Well, one thing was for sure: he couldn't leave Schmidt here unchaperoned. God only knew what LA would do to him if Nick wasn't around to keep him grounded. And Winston had followed him here all the way from Chicago, so leaving without him would be the biggest dick move he could think of. He couldn't do that to a man he considered a brother…he couldn't do that to either of them. When Walt Miller wasn't motivation enough, Schmidt and Winston were. For now.

He opened his eyes with a deep frown, then heaved himself into a sitting position. Schmidt was already up and showered, and he was typing away on his laptop. He probably had some…marketing classes (Nick wasn't really too sure what kind of thing a marketing major studied) or else some theater thing going on later. He looked surprisingly perky for the amount of alcohol he'd consumed the night before. One of the first things that Nick and Schmidt had bonded over was Schmidt's ridiculous alcohol tolerance.

"How do you do it?" Nick asked, wincing as his slight headache caught up with him. "You had so many shots."

Schmidt shrugged, flashing a huge grin at his friend. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"What does that even mean?" Nick covered his eyes for a second, trying to shut the light out. Why had he had so much to drink last night?

 _Oh yeah._ For some reason, seeing Jess and her boyfriend tickle each other's tonsils had put him in a foul temper, and he'd spent the rest of the party drinking beers and making fancy shots for Schmidt, Cece and some of the other girls at the party. Between his drinks, Winston's relative fame as a basketball player and Schmidt's need to be the center of attention, they'd gathered quite a crowd. It should have been a lot of fun, but he'd stayed in kind of a funk the whole night.

He just couldn't understand why Jessica Day was getting to him _now_. He'd noticed her long before this. In fact, he'd noticed her on their first day of class three years ago. With her constant cheerfulness and penchant for bright colors and pretty dresses, she was impossible _not_ to notice, especially in a crowd of buttoned up and self-important law students. She still wore ribbons in her hair. He hadn't seen a girl do that since elementary school. So yeah, he'd definitely noticed her, but he hadn't really paid too much attention because, before this summer, he'd been with Caroline. And when Nick was with a girl, he had this habit of making her the center of his world. It sounded romantic, but it usually just led to arguments about him being too clingy.

He dragged a hand through his hair. Caroline had left him and Jessica Day was dating someone. He needed to get his shit together.

Before he could 'get his shit together,' however, a thought occurred to him. Schmidt was in _two_ frats. He knew a lot of different people on campus…he probably knew Sam, or at least someone else who knew Sam. He didn't know why he was so curious, but he didn't question it too closely.

"Hey, Schmidt…can I ask you a question?"

"Why Nick, you know I love it when you seek out my expertise. What can I help you with? Your hair? Clothes? Please tell me clothes, I can help you _so much_ with those plebeian rags you wear—"

"I don't need help with my clothes, Schmidt." He was already regretting opening his mouth, but in for a penny… "That guy that Cece's friend was with last night…the tall one. Do you know him?"

"Oh, Sam? Yeah, I know Sam. He's a med student. I think he's in his final year." Schmidt shrugged. "His cousin is in one of my frats."

"Sam, yeah. He's a _med student?_ " Nick could feel himself frowning, but he couldn't stop it. He wasn't sure why he was so certain that Sam was a douchebag, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he would not like the guy if they got to know each other better.

"Yeah. Popular with the ladies. I personally don't see the appeal. I mean, sure: he's tall and has great teeth, but a med student? I'll be making twice as much money as him in marketing, just watch. And I won't have to expose myself to disgusting sick people to do it."

"You're a real humanitarian, Schmidt," Nick said with an eye roll. Schmidt didn't seem to catch the sarcasm, or else he ignored it.

Nick stood and wandered over to their snack drawer, looking for something to tide him over until he could find some breakfast. He glanced back at Schmidt's computer and then did a double-take.

"Why are you researching Hinduism, Schmidt?" he asked, although he thought he might already know the answer. His friend straightened up and lifted his chin, already defensive, and Nick knew before Schmidt spoke that his assumption was correct.

"I'll have you know that I've always had a special interest in Hinduism, Nicholas. I really appreciate how they respect cows, and how they, uh…how they believe in reincarnation and enlightenment and…"

Nick's look of disbelief was legendary. If looks could be sarcastic, this one was for sure.

"Sure, buddy. And it has nothing to do with Cece at all, right?"

"That's what they call a happy coincidence, or serendipity, if you will."

Nick wouldn't. "Whatever you say," he replied with a snort, and he went back to rummaging around for food. "Well, good luck, man. You're definitely going to need it."

Schmidt didn't even seem insulted, he just accepted his friend's well wishes and continued his research of Hinduism.

 **-22-**

Nick caught up with Winston at the dining hall. He was considering his fruit choices a little more carefully than he probably needed to, and his lip was swollen from wiping out while mattress surfing. He was dressed for basketball practice, but then he was pretty much _always_ dressed for basketball practice.

"I'd stick with the green thing," Nick said as he joined his friend.

"You mean the a _pple_ , Nick?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. That."

"Man, you have been eating _way_ too much instant soup," Winston said, shaking his head in dismay at Nick's poor nutrition. He plunked the apple down on Nick's tray. "You need this more than me."

Nick didn't argue with him. They wandered over to the selection of baked goods together. "We should hang out later, you know? Do something fun. I'm bored of all this school stuff."

Winston laughed. "The semester literally _just_ started."

"School is for fools, man." He had a pretty impressive grumpy face going on. "Come on, basketball season hasn't kicked off yet."

"Hey, man…are you okay?" Winston asked. Nick never suggested going out. Not unless something was wrong. He'd known that Nick had been pretty lonely lately, in spite of his and Schmidt's best efforts. Over the summer, Nick's long-term girlfriend had broken up with him. He'd thought that Nick had finally started to get over her, but he was looking edgy and anxious again.

"Yeah man, I'm fine." Nick shrugged off Winston's concern way too quickly, but one thing Winston had learned over the years was not to push his friend too far. If pressed on emotional topics, Nick had two go-to moves: he either shut down or blew up. It had been that way since they'd been in middle school, when Nick's dad pretty much stopped coming home.

"Alright. Hey, I believe you. But…you know…if this is a Caroline thing…"

At the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name, Nick's face shut down completely. It was like watching a shutter snap closed. He turned his head away. "It's not a Caroline thing," he said shortly.

"Got it. Message received. Listen, if practice doesn't go too late, we'll go do something. Alright?"

Nick nodded and Winston relaxed a little bit. If he handled the situation carefully, he'd get to the bottom of what was bugging his friend tonight.

 **-22-**

Jess had spent most of her day in the law library, poking old volumes at random and trying to ignore the fact that she definitely had not sought out some sort of internship. She wasn't sure what was holding her back, except maybe that once she was an intern it would all be too real. The door to her career dreams was rapidly closing, but she wasn't ready to give them up yet.

She'd texted Sam to see if he wanted to have dinner and hang out. She couldn't help but feel a little lonely when she considered her academic and professional future, and hanging out with him would definitely help her get her mind off of her troubles. She waited for two hours and then she'd been forced to accept that he was busy and she probably wouldn't see him that night.

It had been happening more often lately. She knew medical school was incredibly demanding so she did her best not to read into his long silences…and yet, despite her best efforts, she was feeling a little disappointed as she wandered to her car and drove home. Sam always texted her goodnight, and she knew as soon as he had some time he'd let her know.

Well, maybe she and Cece could open up a bottle of pink wine or have an impromptu dance party/sleepover in their living room. Sometimes they did that just for fun, especially when life was getting a little too adult for them.

Her hopes in that regard were dashed too. As soon as the door swung open, she heard voices and realized that her best friend already had company. What she was not prepared for was to walk into the living room and see Cece and her model friends surrounding Schmidt. He was grinning like he couldn't believe his luck, and he beckoned Jess in eagerly when he spotted her.

"Jess, welcome. Cece and her delightful friends were just telling me about their favorite underwear shoots. It's a show-and-tell. You're more than welcome to join!"

Jess just stared at him with wide blue eyes. His giant grin never faltered, and after a moment she shook herself.

"Hi everyone," she said, and then she disappeared into her bedroom. Okay, so tonight wasn't going at all like she'd hoped...but she was probably way overreacting to her problems. All she needed to do was go back into the living room, have some drinks and help the models tease Schmidt. It could be really fun! And most nights, she probably would have joined in without a second thought.

But tonight she couldn't. Instead, she changed clothes, grabbed her keys and left again with a quick, "Gonna go meet Sam! Don't be too hard on Schmidt!" as she walked out of the door. She didn't know where she was going yet, but that didn't seem all that important anymore.

 **-22-**

She ended up at a local bar, one of the ones that was packed with her classmates more often than not. Tonight wasn't an exception: there were several people she recognized sitting around the room, usually grouped around TVs that were playing sports highlights from the day. She pushed her way up to the bar and ordered a sex on the beach, because it was one of the six drinks she knew the name of, and then glanced around the room. She wasn't sure what to do now that she was here. Maybe she should just drink her sex on the beach and then head back home and join Cece and her friends…

The bartender finished her drink and slid it toward her. She was paying for it when a large hand wrapped itself around her glass and pulled it away from her.

"Hey!" She whirled to face the alcohol thief and found herself eye to eye with Nick Miller. Her heart slammed into her rib cage.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, tearing his eyes away to look at her drink. He wrinkled his nose at it, but his lips were still curled up in the corners. He sniffed it. " _Yikes._ "

"Give me my drink back, Miller," she growled, but when she lunged for it he pulled it high out of her reach, chuckling.

"I had you pegged as more of a daiquiri drinker, myself," he said. He held her drink out of her reach for a few more seconds, then passed it to her when she started to pout. Jess flushed and didn't answer: she _did_ enjoy the occasional frozen daiquiri, but she was not going to admit it to Miller, who probably drank bourbon straight or something like that.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, wrapping both hands securely around her glass. Nick's face soured for second and he turned slightly away.

"I was supposed to meet a friend, but…something came up. So it's just me tonight." He lifted his beer in a sad sort of salute, then blinked when Jess clinked her glass to his.

They drank in silence for a few moments, neither sure what to say to the other. It should have been more awkward than it was, but Nick was a good guy to be silent with. He looked over and shook his head as she scooted the little paper umbrella out of her way with her nose before drinking.

"So, law school, am I right?" she said at last.

He let out a long sigh. "Yeah," he replied, looking as unsatisfied with the prospect as she felt. He mussed up his hair with both hands. "Not as glamorous as everyone thinks."

"Do you have an internship?"

His response was a bitter laugh.

"Yeah." She stirred her drink. "Me either."

He gave her a sidelong look, no doubt surprised that she wasn't completely on top of and maybe a few steps ahead of curriculum. "You'll find something," he told her.

"Not if I don't start looking. Which I'm not. Looking, I mean." She tilted her head as she considered him. "I don't know why…I just keep putting it off and putting it off. But on the bright side, I am almost done with reorganizing my knitting supplies."

"I'm sorry, did you just say _knitting supplies_?"

"Oh yeah! I crochet a lot. I'm teaching my friend Cece. She's not very good but we just started."

"Wow." He blinked at his beer. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't know anyone who knits that's under seventy."

"It's making a comeback," she informed him. He didn't look like he believed her.

"Knitting," he muttered under his breath, still sounding a little flabbergasted, and they went back to drinking for a while. Jess was just finishing her sex on the beach when a guy slid up next to her and ordered her a second one without asking.

"Hey," he said. "I've seen you around."

"Hey," Jess replied, smiling up at the stranger despite feeling mildly annoyed by the intrusion. "I'm Jess."

"I'm David." He paid for the drink. Jess hesitated to accept it. She could feel Nick's gaze on her and tried to ignore it. She didn't really feel like talking to this David guy, but he'd already paid for it…

"After you finish that, do you want to get out of here?" he asked, interrupting her internal debate.

"Uh, no I don't think so. Thanks…but…I have class in the morning and…"

"Oh come on, honey. Don't be like that. I bought you a drink…let's have a little fun tonight." David's smile was still plastered on his lips, but there was an edge to it now.

"No thanks." She tried to push the drink toward him, deciding now to turn it down. David's expression had finally shifted to annoyance.

"You're at a bar on Tuesday night. You let me pay for your drink. And now you're acting like you don't know what signals you're sending out? Don't be an ungrateful bitch—"

He barely got to finish the word, because at that second Nick's fist crashed into his mouth. Jess hadn't noticed him getting up and circling around, but her heart leaped with relief as he moved between her and David. He was breathing hard, and she could see his fists were still balled, ready to punch the guy again if he hadn't gotten the picture.

"What the _hell?!_ " David's lips were bleeding and he'd stumbled back into the people behind him.

"Call her a bitch again." Nick's voice was glacier cold. Jess realized that he actually _wanted_ to hit the guy again and it made a shiver run down her back.

"Hey, take it outside!" The bartender already had a phone in his hands in case he needed to call the cops. Jess put her hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Come on, let's just go. I'm done anyway," she said. Nick reached into his pocket and then slapped down some cash on the bar top for his drink, but his eyes never left David. Finally, urged on by her gentle tugs, he nodded and they walked out.

"Bastard," Nick snapped. "Jesus, some guys are just…I'm sorry Jess, I just couldn't let him—"

"It's okay." She was examining his swelling knuckles. "Really, thank you. No one's ever…it's okay."

She looked up from his hand to find him staring at her, and a strange whirling, falling sensation swept through her at the intensity in his eyes. Her lips parted a little and his gaze dropped to them, just for a second. Did he want to kiss her? Because she wanted him to, wanted it more than she'd ever wanted a kiss before—

 _Sam._ Sam didn't deserve that. She dropped her gaze and the spell was broken, at least a little bit.

"You should ice that hand," she told him.

"Yeah." He flexed his fingers but didn't move.

"I should go." If she looked up into his eyes again, she might forget why she'd hesitated. She stared at his boots instead.

"Okay. You okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I…I can call Cece, so…"

"Great. Okay. Yeah. See you around, Jess."

"See you around, Nick," she replied. He hesitated, just one long pause that felt like it lasted a year, and then he turned and started walking away.

"Thank you!" she yelled after him, wishing she had some better way of expressing her gratitude for his actions on her behalf. He lifted a hand in acknowledgement but before she could call out anything else, he ducked around the building and disappeared into the shadows.

With a huge sigh, Jess turned to her car. She climbed into the passenger side, locked the doors, and called Cece for a ride. While she waited, she couldn't help but wonder just what the hell was happening in her life? And how was she going to get herself back on track?

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter went _wayyyyy_ longer than I thought it would, and though I had definitely planned to get to Schmidt and Cece and to do at least one more scene with Winston explaining why he couldn't make it to meet Nick, I realized around page 9 that it just wasn't all going to fit. It'll have to wait for the next chapter.

In the meantime, I hope you liked chapter two! I had a lot of fun with writing punchy Nick! Let me know your thoughts and see you for chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey everyone! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your positive responses and encouragement! It's been one of those impossible weeks but reading all of your lovely reviews really helped me get through and stay motivated to finish this chapter! You're all amazing!

A guest reviewer asked if Jess was still a virgin since she and Sam didn't sleep together after the party. That's a great question! I'd say that Jess is sexually active but not very experienced, so she still gets pretty nervous, especially with Sam (because he's had a lot more experience than her). She and Sam didn't sleep together that night because she was still thinking about Nick…which I probably should have elaborate on in the story. I hope that answers your question! And feel free to ask me anything else you might want to know.

Lastly, sometimes I post little sneak peaks of upcoming chapters on my Tumblr, so if you're interested it's **fictionalwhims**. On with Chapter 3!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two.  
** **Chapter Three.**

Although Jess had told Cece all the details of her encounter with Nick while her friend drove her home—and Cece had definitely wanted to hear the details of that punch, more than once—she was still having trouble believing it wasn't all a dream when she woke up the next morning. After all, no one ever got rescued that way, not outside of television land. And the _fury_ she'd seen in Nick's eyes, where had that come from? Protecting her may have triggered his violence, but there had to be more to it than that. There had been such chaotic joy in him at the possibility for a real fight, and it had been with visible reluctance that he'd allowed her to pull him away.

Jess didn't approve of violence…but her reaction to the events of the night before was not disgust. In fact, the memory of Nick's stormy eyes and quick, brutal reflexes sent a thrill through her. She gave a guilty sigh as she got ready for the day. Some pacifist she was turning out to be.

By the time she'd finished getting dressed, Sam had texted her good morning. She was just typing out a reply which featured a lot of happy emojis when she got a second message from him. Her smile evaporated. He would be busy for most of the week while he prepared for a practical exam. They probably wouldn't see each other until the following weekend. She was really starting to miss him, but the exams were out of his control. After a moment she finished her message, wishing him good luck on the test and adding a couple more smiley faces just so he'd know she wasn't upset.

She wandered out into the living room hoping to see a friendly face, but it was silent. Other than a few empty bottles left over from the show-and-tell the night before, there was no sign of Cece, Schmidt or any of the models. Feeling suddenly (and she knew a little irrationally) abandoned, she gathered her things for class and headed to campus.

 **-22-**

She got to her lecture and pulled out her notes. Phone on silent. Pens and highlighters ready. Everything was normal…until Nick took the seat beside her.

Their eyes met briefly and her heart jolted. But he didn't say a word. It was almost as though he didn't remember socking some guy in the mouth for calling her a bitch less than twelve hours ago. He gave her a small nod, then settled more comfortably in his seat, and that was it. She could hear a couple of students behind them whispering about it, mostly because Nick never sat beside anyone, but he just stared down at the professor as the lecture got started.

 _What is_ with _this guy?_ she thought, her confusion translating itself into anger. All of a sudden he was everywhere she was, acting like a scruffy, beer drinking version of a guardian angel, and she had no idea how she was supposed to respond. On top of that, he seemed perfectly content to sit beside her without a word, oblivious to the fact that she wanted to tear her hair out because she couldn't figure out what he wanted from her.

 _Nick freaking Miller._ Her inner voice was scathingly sarcastic. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself and turned her eyes toward the front of the room. She could do silent if she had to. He wasn't going to get under her skin. He just wasn't.

 **-22-**

By the end of class, he was _definitely_ under her skin.

 **-22-**

By the end of the following week, she was nearly ready to crack. She'd barely heard from Sam and she'd endured two more silent lectures with Nick sitting next to her, their arms brushing when she wasn't careful to avoid touching him. He would give her a little nod or shoot her a smile or make faces at the professor, but he never communicated out loud. As soon as the lecture over, he grabbed his stuff and wandered off to wherever he was going next, leaving a confused and increasingly frustrated Jess in his wake.

A couple of the other girls in class were now giving her dirty looks. She knew there were a few rumors circulating about their sudden closeness, but there was _nothing going on._

Worse, she had a feeling he knew exactly how much he was infuriating her. That was probably the fun of it. Well, Nick Miller's amusement at her expense wasn't going to last much longer. When the lecture was over, she was going to follow him and figure out just what the hell he was up to.

When their class ended, Nick grabbed his stuff and headed for the door as usual. Jess stuffed all of her notebooks and pens back into her bag as quickly as she could and then took off after him, cursing his head start and longer legs. She caught sight of his flannel moving across campus and followed him, forcing herself not to run. She would not _run_ after Nick Miller. No way. Never.

He headed toward a large grassy area and met up with Winston from the frat party. Then, while Jess was still pushing her way through a mass of students to join them, Schmidt also appeared. She could hear him talking about Cece as she got closer.

"Guys, Cece is perfection. You can't just _ask out_ perfection. I need a real plan – and before we get started, I should point out that Nick, as a recent dumpee and the owner of that flannel, you should not be allowed to contribute."

"We should really come up with a system to penalize you when you're being an asshat," Nick replied, and Winston burst out laughing. Schmidt flapped his hands at them.

"Focus! How am I going to come up with a foolproof plan to ask Cecelia out if you two clowns keep distracting me with my miniscule flaws?"

"You could just try, 'Hey Cece, I think you're a cool cat, can I take you out to a restaurant that definitely is not an Indian restaurant because every guy takes you to Indian restaurants on the first date?'" Jess suggested, coming to a halt between Winston and Schmidt.

"AH!" Schmidt jumped at the sound of her voice and clutched his heart. "Where did you come from? And also, are you completely sure that will work?"

"I guarantee that if you suggest any other type of food, especially sushi, she will probably agree to go out with you." Jess stared at him. "But if you objectify her or upset her, she'll probably kill you with her bare hands and ask me to help her hide your body."

"Cecelia…so fierce. So exciting." Schmidt's grin was a mile wide and for a moment, Jess was so weirded out by his excitement at his possible murder that she'd forgotten why she'd followed Nick in the first place. But then she remembered and spun back to face him. Before she could say a word, he gestured to Winston.

"I don't think you've met Winnie yet. Winston, this is Jess. She's in my general law lectures. Jess, this is Winston, he's on the basketball team."

"I ride the bench a lot," Winston replied, shaking Jess's hand. "You're Cece's friend."

"Lifelong best friend and roommate, in fact! Nice to meet you, Winston."

"Winston was the friend I was supposed to meet the other night," Nick explained.

"Yeah, thanks for taking care of Nick for me." Winston clapped him on the back. "I got mugged."

"You got _what?_ " Jess stared at him with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was some guys from USC's team. We're rivals and they thought it would be funny. Upside, though: I was rescued by a very pretty cop and her partner. She swooped in and made the guys give me my stuff back, threatened to call their coach…yeah, she was pretty cool. Her name is Aly. I think I might love her but it's probably too soon to tell."

 _Apparently there was a lot of rescuing going on that night,_ Jess thought, but she didn't say that. Instead she said: "I believe in love at first sight."

"Of course you do," Nick muttered under his breath.

"Sorry, what was that?" She was glaring lightning bolts at him.

"I said, 'of course you do.' I bet you also sing while the forest animals get you dressed in the morning." He shrugged. "It's not a bad thing, it's just a little naïve."

"I am _not_ naïve."

The disbelief on his face spoke clearly without him having to say a word, and Jess finally felt her temper snap.

"Can I talk to you?" she hissed, but she'd already grabbed his arm and was hauling him away from his friends. Schmidt's eyes were wide but he was cracking up, clearly enjoying the sight of Nick being chastised by a tiny blue-eyed elf person. Even Winston looked pretty amused as Jess dragged Nick out of earshot.

"Okay, what is going on? Because out of nowhere you are saving me from douchebags and sitting next to me in class, but you won't _talk_ to me and from your earlier insults I think it's pretty clear that you find me a little annoying, so _why_ are you following me?"

"You followed me!" he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No deflecting!" She shoved a disapproving finger in his face. "I'm a law student too, that won't work on me."

"Look, Jess, it's no big deal. If you don't want me to sit with you, I won't. Okay?" He pushed her hand away from him and stared at her for another moment, his eyes darkening as he studied her expression. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, or if he was mad or disappointed or annoyed or maybe all three. It bothered her that she was having so much trouble reading him.

"I don't care if you sit next to me in class, Nick, I just want to know where all of this is coming from," she told him. He glanced away, and she could see the muscles in his jaw clench as he tried to come up with an answer for her. He was not, she could tell, accustomed to talking about his feelings. It took him a long time to decide what to say, and when he finally did look back down at her, she was surprised by the sudden shift in mood. He looked very vulnerable, but also tense: ready to snap his defenses back up in a second if he needed to.

 _Wounded,_ she thought, feeling herself softening. _He's too good at protecting himself. He's been hurt._

"I like hanging out with you, okay Jess? You don't make me feel like a loser for not being on top of stuff. I'm starting to hate law school and it seems like you get that and you're not judging me for it or constantly nagging me to work harder. I can relax and I know that you understand because you kind of hate it too." He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it further, and she could see the little boy he must have been once underneath the scruff and the anger.

He just seemed so damn lost, and she was a sucker for that. She could feel herself becoming attached already, wanting to help him. How did he do that? She had always been trusting but this was ridiculous.

"Okay," she said. She tried to resist touching his arm and failed. She gave his bicep a reassuring squeeze and tried not to notice how the muscle there didn't give much under her fingers.

"Okay? That's it?" He seemed surprised by her willingness to accept his answer…or maybe by her willingness to accept him.

"Yeah, okay. I get that. And I'd like us to be friends. I am," she added as he began to smile, "probably going to nag you about schoolwork a little. But only because I've always wanted to be a teacher and therefore I feel it's my duty. But okay."

"Alright." He nodded, then blew out a long breath she hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I'm gonna…go get Schmidt under control before he names his and Cece's future children."

"Please do that," Jess agreed, laughing. He smiled at her.

"See you around, Jess." He jogged back to his friends and she waved goodbye to them before heading home. She was too wound up to go to her next class, and anyway, someone had to warn Cece about her impending motherhood.

 **-22-**

Cece and Jess made s'mores over their gas stove that night, propped in dining room chairs and wearing robes. Cece's robe was silky and sexy and Jess's robe was fluffy and pink, but they both had silly slippers on. Twenty minutes before, they'd painted each other's nails and flipped through some magazines, looking for Cece or her friends in the glossy photos. Then Jess explained her conversation with Nick, trying to leave out just how magnetic she found him.

"He just really seems to need someone to care about him, you know? It's like he's a wounded animal, and yes he's wild and no you can't take care of him forever, but it's kind of up to you to help him out until he can, I dunno, hunt on his own again," she said, waving her marshmellow stick around for emphasis.

"Okay, Jess, but be careful. I know you, remember? I watched you try to keep every stray animal you ever found when we were kids." Cece wrapped her free arm around Jess. "You have a really great boyfriend, and he might not understand why you need to help. Just don't forget that."

"I won't. But Cece…I've never had more than one or two friends before and they've all been girls. I'm kind of excited."

Cece groaned. "Please tell me we're not taking in all the misfits."

"Not _all._ Just…three, maybe?" Jess shot Cece her most winning smile as her best friend shook her head despairingly.

"Alright, but that's it!"

"You can't fool me. I know you have a soft spot for Schmidt." She had the distinct pleasure of watching Cece's cheeks flush at being called out. "It's okay, you know. There is something weirdly, annoyingly charming about him."

"Most of the stuff that comes out of his mouth is _so offensive_." Cece looked genuinely confused, but Jess could tell it was because someone was legitimately getting under her skin. She didn't let that happen very often. "I dunno, though…he just seems to really like who I am, not just what I look like."

"He likes what you look like too."

"Trust me, I know." Cece rolled her eyes, then laughed. "But for some reason, it doesn't bother me when he compliments me, because I know that he also likes _me_."

Jess gave a happy little sigh and Cece pushed her shoulder a little.

"Try not to start planning my wedding, okay?"

"I definitely don't have to, because Schmidt might already have that covered," Jess replied with a laugh. "All I have to do is plan the bachelorette party. You wanted the theme to be whips and chains, right?"

"Oh God…" Cece covered her face with her hands while Jess finished making their s'mores.

 **-22-**

One thing Cece had said stuck with Jess long after they'd gone to bed. She sighed and rolled over onto her side, pulling her covers up under her chin and staring at her phone. She needed to make a better effort with Sam. He'd been so busy lately and she hadn't really tried to see him. But now, in the dark, she felt lonely. She sent him a text asking to meet up the next day. She'd have to get up early so she could bake him some oatmeal raisin cookies.

Her phone beeped: Sam missed her and wanted to see her too. Then 'goodnight' with some hearts.

He was a good boyfriend. A very good boyfriend. Cece was absolutely right: she needed to be careful and make sure she didn't lose him.

She shoved the lingering image of Nick's warm brown eyes to the back of her mind and closed her eyes tightly. It took her a long time to go to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you again for your patience! Hopefully the next chapter will come along a bit quicker than this one. Your support means a lot! Jess's friendship with Nick is going to cause some jealousy from Sam, and Schmidt prepares to wow Cece with their first date...as well as a bunch of other good stuff, I promise!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Exploring the NG fandom has been amazing because all of you have been so wonderful and welcoming and encouraging! I am so excited by the warm response to this story! **Thank you** , I really mean that. I read every review and I check the stats constantly because I am so overwhelmed and happy. You're the best fandom ever, I swear!

This chapter fought me a bit which is why it took a little longer, but toward the end it got way easier to write. I didn't get to write in Sam's jealousy but that is coming. Still there's a bit of tension here I think you might like. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two.  
** **Chapter Four.**

Cece was leaving the apartment just as Jess was coming into the living room. She disappeared after a quick goodbye hug and a promise to catch up in the evening, and Jess took her time getting ready in the empty apartment. She mixed up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for Sam and took her time picking out a dress and doing her hair. Not long after the oven was hot, the warm scent of baking cookies filled the living space. It was just about the perfect start to the day, and to top it off the day was promising to be sunny and cool. Often late summers in Los Angeles were miserably hot, so she was happy with the brief respite.

Two hours later she was on her way to school with the cookies tucked in her bag. She was feeling peaceful with the world, her struggles from the week before now long forgotten. She parked her car and began the long trek over to Wilson Plaza where Sam was probably already waiting for her. She hummed all the way there, then broke out in a smile and a light jog when she spotted her boyfriend. He scooped her up and dropped a peck on her upturned lips.

"It feels like it's been a long time since I've seen you," Jess said. "And last week was so crazy."

"Tell me about it." Sam rolled his eyes. "I know I won't be sleeping a lot when I do my residency, but I feel like I'm already getting a head start on that part."

She handed him the cookies and he grinned at her. She knew he loved them, and he wasted no time in popping the top off of the tupperwear container and digging in. Figuring now was as good a time as any, she launched into an explanation of her earlier frustrations about Nick and how she had come out of the situation with three new friends.

"Hey, that sounds great…but if that Nick guy gives you any more trouble, let me know, okay? I don't like the idea of him messing with you. Especially not with all the work you've got ahead of you this year." Sam's smile had faded into a look of vague concern. "Cece and the models distract you enough as it is."

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Jess assured him, wincing internally. It was true, she had been very distracted lately, but that had nothing to do with her new friends. Or…well, not much to do with them.

"Alright. I trust you." Sam was smiling again. "We should all have a get together one of these days. I wanna meet them."

"Because they're all guys?" she asked, nudging her elbow into his side. He grinned at her, unabashed.

"That's exactly why," he agreed, but he was laughing as he said it and Jess laughed with him. It didn't occur to her that he might be jealous, despite Cece's warnings from the night before. Instead, still feeling impossibly happy, she spent the last of the morning with Sam before heading to the library to look at some internship possibilities. Maybe she'd even apply for one…

 **-22-**

Jess definitely did not apply for an internship, although she did find a few possibilities that didn't look too terrible. She left the library and headed back across campus, hoping to grab something to eat before her next class. The sun was still shining brightly overhead, and for a moment she wished she were headed to the beach instead of back inside—and then someone shouted her name.

"Jess!"

She turned and spotted Schmidt jogging over to her. He had done something with his hair, smoothing it out with some sort of product and slicking it back. It looked nice on him. She smiled as he approached.

"Hey, Schmidt. I like your hair."

"I invested in a very high-end brand of sculpting gel. It not only styles and holds, it hydrates. And it smells like a piña colada," he told her. "I'm throwing a party tonight. I've lost 75 pounds and I'm almost at my goal weight so it's time to test out my new bod."

The wording was terrible—it conjured up all sorts of mental images she wasn't sure she could get rid of. She opened her mouth to say so, but Schmidt cut her off, trying to look cool and instead just looking very jumpy and a little bit bug-eyed. "Maybe you could invite Cece and some of her friends. It'll be chill. Here's the address to the bar."

He passed her a piece of paper with the address printed in very precise handwriting. Jess tucked it away in her bag, then glanced up at him, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Are you going to ask Cece out tonight?" she asked him.

His face cycled through a number of emotions very quickly. Finally he settled on dignified outrage.

"When I ask Cece out, it will be a moment to be remembered throughout history. It will be glorified in verse, like when Romeo first saw Juliet, Tristan and Isolde…other…poetic…couples…Anyway, it will not be at some dirty, common bar while my friends sip sub-par cocktails and grind to old pop songs."

"That's…uh…right. I'm just going to wish you good luck. But hurry up before someone else asks her out. She likes you so don't overthink it. I have to get going or I'm going to be late for class." She waved at him and started walking again; if she was quick she could still grab a snack or something.

Schmidt followed her. "What do you mean, she likes me? Did she say that? Did she say that she likes me? How did she say it? Is it like a pity like? Or like, a like like? Jessica?"

 _Oh God._ She gave up on the snack idea. Her only hope now was to lose him in class.

 **-22-**

By the time Jess made it home that afternoon, she was in a bit of a panic. She hadn't been invited to many parties in her life, meaning that her party closet was pretty bare. She was going to need some help from Cece. It was her lucky day too, because Cece's photo shoot had been in the morning and she was already home. Nadia was there as well, perched on their couch and flipping through daytime television with a bored look on her face. Cece was in the kitchen making a very bland salad.

"Cece, hi! Guess what? _I_ got invited to a party!" Jess did a little dance which ended in a full spin. She was glad their kitchen floor was tile or it wouldn't have come off so smoothly.

"That's great, Jess!"

"Well, I mean, _we_ got invited to a party. It's tonight. Schmidt is throwing it for himself to celebrate his new body. I think we should go!"

For a moment, she thought Cece was going to say no: she had on her very careful face which Jess knew was supposed to keep her feelings from being hurt. Her heart plummeted a little (why was she so excited about this?), but then her friend blew out a quick sigh.

"You know what? Why not? It's the first time you've been invited to a party. Let's do it." She gave Jess a quick hug.

"Your model friends are invited too, he was pretty clear about that."

"I bet."

"I need help…I don't have any more party clothes." Jess paused. "I could find my overalls and—"

"Jess, we talked about those overalls." Cece's hands were on her hips. "Why didn't you burn them like I asked you to?"

"They just go so perfectly with my gag teeth…"

Cece rolled her eyes. "Come on, Nadia…we've got to make Jess presentable."

"Is impossible task. But TV suck so why not?" Nadia rose from the couch in one long, perfect movement that Jess found so intimidating. Then the models led her into Cece's room and she spent the next two hours being made-over and singing about it.

 **-22-**

The bar was absolutely packed. Nick took a huge swig of beer and tried not to let the crush of Schmidt's fellow frat brothers get to him. The only reason he hadn't made his escape was the fact that Schmidt had struggled so hard to lose weight. He respected what his friend had been through and wanted to let him know that yes, he was proud of him. Of course, he hadn't managed to get the words out yet. Voicing his emotions had never been a strongpoint. Instead, he hoped his genuine happiness for Schmidt was evident in the fact that he stayed at this party even though frat boys made him want to red-out with rage and break things.

He and Winston stuck close to Schmidt as he greeted people, and the marketing classes had definitely paid off because Nick had to admit his friend was pretty decent at networking. He was glad that Winston was not: they could at least hang out together when Schmidt was busy with other guests.

"I did not know Schmidt had this many friends," Winston said, nursing his beer and scanning the crowd.

"I did. But I also heard him say he'd heartlessly abandon them on the road to greatness if necessary, so maybe 'friends' isn't the right word," Nick replied, and Winston laughed.

"Man I hope some more girls show up. Not that I would talk to them—you know I can't talk to them—but just because it would vastly improve the scenery."

It was Nick's turn to laugh. "I think he really expects that model to show up—"

" _CECELIA!_ " Schmidt's booming joy cut him off, and just like that, his friend was pushing across the room toward the entrance to the bar. A crowd of women had just walked in and Cece really was at the front of the group. Along with Jess. Nick's eyes searched through the new group, but there was no Sam in sight. He let out a small sigh of relief.

"Finally," Winston said. "And if Schmidt could get her to show up, maybe I've got a chance of getting Aly to drop by."

"Worth a shot," Nick murmured. Should he go over there? He'd just about convinced himself he shouldn't when her eyes connected with his across the room. They were impossibly blue, and they widened when she saw that he'd already been staring at her. They both began squeezing through the crowd to get to each other.

"Nick! Hi! I think you and Winston are the only other people here I recognize," Jess said as she got close.

"Same," he told her. "Honestly that's okay with me. These guys are all talking about social media I don't use."

She laughed, those electric eyes still glued to his face, and his chest felt a little tighter. What the hell did she do to him? Why was it so easy and so goddamn hard to talk to her at the same time? And why did she have to wear little dresses that made him wonder if her skin felt as soft as it looked? Her legs were a mile long and she had these great curves and dammit, he was just a man: he couldn't have stopped himself from taking a good hard look no matter what, even with the words "she has a boyfriend," running through his mind's eye like a marquee.

"You look great," he told her. She flushed and gave him a huge smile, and he knew he was one hundred percent screwed here. He just had no idea what to do about it.

 **-22-**

An hour later, after encouraging Winston to text Aly and trying to remind Schmidt not to overthink asking Cece out, Jess found herself sitting on the hood of Nick's car. He was resting back against the windshield, looking up at the night sky. She was sure they'd dent the hood, but he'd shrugged off her concerns. The bodywork wasn't exactly in mint condition, so she took a breath and followed suit, leaning back until she came in contact with the cool glass.

The night sky wasn't especially spectacular. This was Los Angeles, after all: the light pollution seriously diminished the view of the stars. But then, Portland's skies had usually been overcast, so she'd take the few stars she could get. She tried to think of something to say. When he'd asked her if she'd wanted to get out of the bar because it was hot and stuffy and packed, she'd agreed instantly, and now she realized that being alone with him had her tongue twisted into knots.

"No Sam tonight?" Nick's voice was oh, so casual.

"He's got a study group. He might come after." She wriggled her shoulders against the car, wondering why that excuse felt so tired.

"Yeah, Schmidt said he was in school to be a doctor. Sounds like a ton of work."

"It is, but he's good at it." Why did it make her feel so bad to talk about Sam? She loved to talk about Sam. He was going to save lives and he was a great boyfriend—but tonight she found herself desperately searching for ways to change the subject.

"Do you have…anyone?" she asked.

Nick's laughter was just a touch off. "No." He didn't elaborate.

She glanced at him. He'd always been kind of the outcast. He was aloof and scruffy. His nose had definitely been broken before, and no one had trouble picturing him in the fight that had probably caused it. She knew from their classmates that he was good at keeping people at arm's distance and that his upbringing had been a far cry from the middle-class suburbia that had characterized her own. And he seemed to be at ease with her. He didn't brush her off or shut her down. And Jess couldn't seem to resist him: it was like a physical tugging sensation whenever he was around, drawing her closer when she knew it was better to stay away.

"Exes?" she asked, keeping her tone gentle. He huffed a little, his shoulders curling up toward his ears while his lips turned down. She didn't think he was going to answer, and then…

"Yeah. Just one in college. I was with her for five years. She's why I came all the way from Chicago. We were together in high school and when she applied to UCLA, I did too. Winston did the same thing. Then, over the summer…it was just over." There was a deep hurt in his eyes when he glanced at her. "She just…didn't want me anymore, I guess. She never really told me why."

"I'm sorry." The need to touch him was making her fingers twitch against the hood of the car. She balled her hands into fists. "That's terrible, you deserve so much better than that."

He was silent for a few long minutes, considering that. Then a wicked little smile curled up one corner of his mouth. "Well, I guess it hasn't been that hard to live without her taking pictures of every single meal. Or leaving her wet towel on the bed while she got ready…or never cleaning her hairbrush…"

Jess laughed, warming to the game. "My ex, Spencer…he never cleaned his hairbrush either. He had hair to his shoulders and he brushed it constantly but he never, ever cleaned the brush. Annoying!"

"Yeah, and Caroline—my ex—she _never_ used to pick a restaurant. And then she'd complain when I did! Like, c'mon woman, just tell me what you want!" He was looking at her, a smile lighting up his eyes. She could see he felt liberated to be speaking about his old girlfriend this way.

"Spencer used to give me these long explanations about how we totally need to save the planet, which we do, but then he wouldn't even water our plants."

"Caroline used to want a dog, but she wanted some hypoallergenic, pathetic little thing she could carry around in her purse…that's not a real dog!"

They went back and forth that way for a long time, trading stories about their former partners. Jess' cheeks were starting to hurt from laughing so much and Nick had somehow managed to scoot closer without her noticing. They were pressed together, side to side, and she didn't scoot away because he was so warm. He'd pulled a six pack from the trunk of his car and they drank as they talked. She was feeling comfortably fuzzy around the edges, buzzing from the drinks and the laughter and the company. This was much better than that crowded bar or knitting in her living room alone.

She looked at him while he talked, gesturing up toward the sky as he told a story about him and Winston when they had lived in Chicago, and warmth flooded her. Nick was great—he was really amazing. All those prickly edges had been hiding a guy that was funny and loyal and, in his own weird way, thoughtful. And if she were being truly honest with herself, he was pretty sexy. The shoulders and the hair and the stubble and those devastating eyes...yeah. It was all working for him. It was all working for _her._

He glanced over and caught her staring. She knew her cheeks were flushed and her pulse leapt when his expression instantly changed. He wasn't laughing anymore. His eyes went all stormy and turbulent and his gaze dropped to her lips. He turned his body toward hers, closing in on her but leaving her an escape. She was taking rapid, shallow breaths as his scent washed over her, spicy and masculine.

"Jess," he said, all gravelly and low, and she wanted to prop herself up on her elbows and kiss him so badly that resisting it was a little bit painful.

His fingers brushed her hair, a strangely gentle touch considering the way his eyes were burning down at her. Her heart was pounding now as those same fingers left her hair and traced over her arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"Nick, I…" Just an inch or two closer and he'd be kissing her…a twist of her torso and they'd be pressed against each other chest-to-chest. She wanted it so much, wanted _him_ so much, it was becoming too hard to remember why she shouldn't—

Her phone vibrated so loudly against the hood of the car that she jumped and let out a yelp. She scrambled off of it and somehow managed to keep her balance on shaky legs. Nick sat up, watching as she fumbled with her phone with a deep frown on his face.

"Hello?" she asked, wincing at how breathless she sounded.

"Hey, Jess. I'm on my way over…are you okay?" Sam's voice was filled with concern and she felt like the worst person on earth.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I, uh…had to run outside so I could hear you. I'm really excited that you're coming!"

"Me too, babe. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"See you soon," she said, and ended the call with a numb finger. She glanced back at Nick, but he'd turned his face away. He expression was as dark and closed as she'd ever seen it.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…that was my fault…"

"Stop it, Jess." There was steel in his voice, a warning not to push it with him right now. A pang went through her: so this is what it was like to be shoved away by Nick Miller. She opened her mouth to say something…and then turned away. She had taken a few steps back toward the bar when he called out to her.

"You said you don't want to be in law school. What do you want, Jess?"

It was such an odd question after what had just happened that she stopped and looked back at him. "I want to be a teacher, like I said."

He finally met her gaze. His eyes were molten and hard to read. "You let people tell you what you should do or what they need you to do. But you can't live like that forever. You gotta push back a little bit. You have to go after what you want, Jess."

Her stomach twisted hard. "And what do you want?"

He laughed darkly as he climbed off of the hood of his car. "Nothing I can have," he told her, and got into the vehicle. A second later his headlights washed over her as he drove away, and she suddenly realized how cold she was. She dragged her feet toward the bar. She'd find Cece and have a drink and wait for Sam…and try to forget what had just happened if she could.

* * *

 **A/N:** Originally I was going to have Sam arrive while Nick and Jess were having their moment on the car...but then a different idea came to mind. We'll get some Sam-related angst/jealousy in the next chapter for sure! And that rating change is creeping closer too!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** As always, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I'm sorry I haven't updated more often. I'm trying to get these chapter written a little faster, and I promise that as soon as they're done, they'll be up here. You have all been so kind and supportive!

Rating change is probably going to be VERY SOON now.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two.  
** **Chapter Five.**

Jessica was certain that things between her and Nick would be unbearably weird. That thought was a little depressing, but she shared some of the blame for it: she should have stopped him long before she did. Things had gotten out of hand out there on his car and she had allowed that to happen. It was completely out of character for her. She'd always been a good girl, always been very careful to avoid hurting people, but when she was with Nick, everything else flew out of her mind. He just took over in a way she'd never experienced before.

She hadn't told Cece. She knew she should, but the words wouldn't come, and she already knew what her best friend would say: Nick was a bad boy with no focus, but Sam was a great guy with a bright future and genuine feelings for Jess. It should be a simple choice. If only she didn't overthink e _verything…_

But who was she kidding? She was Jessica Day. Overthinking things was her all over.

 **-22-**

The universe must have decided to cut her some slack, however, because around lunchtime there was a knock on her door. It was Nick, looking a little rough around the edges and a lot like he hadn't slept. When she opened the door, he immediately apologized.

"I was outta line last night, Jess. I'm really sorry," he said. "I'm really not that guy. I know what it's like to be cheated on and I don't want to—I can't do that to—I was just being stupid. I put you in a bad spot. It won't happen again."

Those last four words hit her like a bucket of ice water. She bowed her head and nodded at her shoes.

"It was my fault too. I should have said something earlier."

"So…friends again?" he asked.

"Yeah, friends again." She reached out and shook his hand. He gave her a small, sheepish smile but before she could invite him in, he was making an excuse to leave. She watched him climb into his car from her doorway and tried to believe it was better this way.

 **-22-**

After that, things seemed to go back to normal. Basketball season started, and Jess and Cece usually accompanied Nick and Schmidt to Winston's games. Sam came too, when he could. Schmidt networked them into a few great Halloween parties but Nick and Sam both sat them out, and Jess attended with Winston instead. Schmidt still hadn't officially asked Cece out on a first date although they usually showed up to parties together. Holiday season was bearing down quickly now. The days should have been getting colder, but Southern California was reluctant to leave summer behind and the weather remained sunny and hot even as Thanksgiving approached.

Jess' life was as good as it had ever been since she'd moved to LA. She had a big group of friends, her grades were fine, and she was making a lot of memories. The only downside was her major, but she trudged onward. It was easier now that Nick was her friend. They spent hours talking about alternate futures, futures where neither of them where lawyers. He was a private detective, a novelist, a bartender...solving crimes, meeting lots of mysterious people. She was a teacher, a principle, an actress…shaping and enriching the life experience of others. On days when she wasn't sure how she was going to keep coping, he was always there to talk to.

Sure, every now and then he looked at her differently. His eyes would be like hot coals, and suddenly he'd become quiet and intense. Sometimes she would look at him that way too, although she was careful that he didn't catch her doing it again.

She thought about his car a lot, the way they'd nearly made out under the stars with the cold windshield under them. She tried not to, but she did. She thought she was doing a decent job of hiding her confusing feelings, but then one day in the second week of November, Sam came over.

His face was like thunder.

"What's going on with you and Nick?" he asked her. He hadn't even stepped through the threshold into the apartment yet. Caught off guard, Jess scrambled for words.

"What do you mean, what's going on with me and Nick? We're friends."

Sam shook his head. "I thought at first it would be good for you to have a friend in your classes. I thought maybe it would help you stay motivated to see this through. But he's only distracting you, Jess. And you spend so much time with him. Every time I text you, you two are together."

Her cheeks were hot. "We have a similar schedule, that's all—"

"Do you have an internship yet? You know you're supposed to be getting practical experience before the bar exam. It's been months now."

"No, I don't have one yet, but…"

"And Nick doesn't have one either, right?"

"Well, no, but—"

Sam was reading her like a book, and his eyes were full of disappointment. Suddenly Jess felt like a child again, being lectured by her father for failing to meet some expectation or another. Tears prickled and she knew before long she was going to lose the battle to keep from crying.

"What happened, Jess? You used to be so focused. We had it all figured out. Don't let this guy talk you out of it. He doesn't have any discipline, and he's obviously never going to be a lawyer. He'll drag you down with him if you let him." He reached out and took her shoulders in his hands, his grasp gentle. "We're almost done with school. I'll do my residency, you'll do your internship, and then we'll both be settled in our careers and we can have a real future. You can't lose sight of that now, not when we're so close."

"You're right." Her voice was so soft, even she had trouble hearing it. "You're right, it's time to get serious."

His thumbs moved in soothing circles on her upper arms. "Hang in there, babe."

She nodded. He gave her a kiss and left. After a while, she retreated to her bedroom. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her: everything Sam had outlined for them should have been a dream come true, but she didn't want any of it. She told herself she just wasn't thinking clearly.

She turned off her phone and went back to bed.

 **-22-**

Jess had been avoiding the world for two days when Nick showed up at her apartment. She had spent the morning baking things that Cece and her friends refused to eat, so the kitchen was covered in muffins and cookies. For no other reason than to cheer herself up, she'd put on a pretty floral dress and done her makeup. Her mother had always told her that if she dressed like she was ready to take on the world, she'd feel a lot more ready to take on the world. And she needed that little boost because at the moment the only thing she felt she could take on was mixing up a batch of banana nut bread.

"Hey, Jess." Nick leaned against the doorjamb and watched as she fussed around the kitchen. "Are you okay? You didn't come to school."

"I'm okay." She tried a confident smile. It faded quickly, and she ducked her head to hide how vulnerable she felt. "I just decided to take a day off."

"You haven't missed a day of class in three years," he replied with a small chuckle. This time her smile was more genuine as she peeked up through her lashes at him.

"How would you know? You were hardly ever there."

"Touché." He was laughing as he stepped into the kitchen. "Seriously, why did you skip class?"

"Sam stopped by. He kind of…reminded me that I've been screwing up a lot lately. I just…I've always been so focused on the future and my five-year plan and these days I've been dropping the ball. I been getting distracted and avoiding reality and…I guess he's just a little disappointed in me."

Nick's brow furrowed. "He's _disappointed_ in you? Is he crazy?"

"No, he's right. I've really been dropping the ball. This is what I chose and I need to see it through."

His hands closed over her biceps. "Jess, listen to me: you're _amazing_ and he should be thankful every day that you're his girlfriend because he is lucky to have you. Any guy would be lucky to have you. You're not excited to be a lawyer, that's all, and that's _okay,_ because you can be anything you want to be. And I really believe that. If I believe anything, I believe that."

Jess was holding her breath, searching his face. He meant every single word, she was certain of it, and all of a sudden it was like he'd sucked all the air out of the room, and she could feel her heartbeat throbbing in her chest. It felt like she was on the edge of the cliff and it was scary and thrilling all at once. His thumbs were tracing circles against the bare skin of her arm and she stepped forward, pressing herself against his chest and looping her arms around his waist.

"I wish I'd talked to you so long ago…before I got trapped into my major. Before…before Sam…"

Nick made a low noise, his chest rumbling against hers as he curled his arms around her. She felt his fingers tease her hair, toying with the ends of her curls as his breath washed over her neck and ear. She burrowed closer, her fingers tightening in his shirt. For one long moment he held her tight against his body, and then all at once he seemed to come back to his senses. He gently pushed her away from him, taking a long step back. The sense of loss was sharp and immediate.

"You gotta get away from me, Jess." Nick's voice was low, full of gravel, and Jess had that exhilarated feeling again: like she was on a rollercoaster that was just going over its biggest drop. His eyes were so intense that she couldn't suck in enough air to fill her lungs, leaving her breathless and fluttery. Seriously, she'd read about people's eyes smoldering in novels but she'd never seen it before now. "We can't do that, I can't hold you like that."

"Why?" Jess asked, her voice a bit petulant but she couldn't help it. She just could not accept the fact that he wasn't going to hug her anymore.

"Because, Jess…" He ran a hand over his face and shuffled from one foot from the other. "Because I want you."

Her eyes flew open wide, and he looked at her in anguish, as though he didn't want to confess but couldn't stop himself. He couldn't seem to stop himself from stepping closer, either, pushing into her space as he continued painting all sorts of insanely erotic images in her mind. His voice dropped even lower.

"God, you have no idea how much I want you in my bed, how many different ways I've imagined it. The things I want to do to you…I keep imagining the way you'll say my name when I'm taking you."

His hands curled into fists in an effort to keep himself from touching her, because she was _Jess_ and she was _sweet_ and she had a boyfriend that was well on his way to becoming a _doctor_ , for crying out loud… He couldn't help it though: his need for her had become a physical sensation, squeezing his heart and lungs mercilessly.

She couldn't answer him, because even if she was capable of forming coherent words at that point, she didn't have enough breath left in her body for speech. She could feel her heart throbbing way, way too quickly in her chest. Nobody had ever spoken to her like that, and she was trying to remember why she needed to have some self-control but his eyes were so dark and hot and so full of want. His lips parted as he leaned in close, like he was daring her to kiss him, like he couldn't think of anything else, and God help her, _she_ couldn't think of anything else.

"Nick—" Her voice was so throaty that she didn't recognize it, and the noise he made in response to the sound of his name from her lips was one of pure need. He was completely overwhelming her personal space, their lips only a few inches apart—

And then Cece burst into the room and grabbed her friend away, glaring at Nick as she put herself between them.

"Just what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"Me? What the hell are _you_ doing?"

"I'm saving my friend from making a huge mistake! She's got a _boyfriend_ and she's in the middle of law school! You're going to ruin _all of that!_ I'm not going to let you!"

" _Let me?!_ Jess is an adult, Cece! She can make her own decisions!" Nick was only lashing out because Cece's words were so utterly, painfully true.

"Get out! Get the hell out of my apartment!" She shoved him hard in the chest. "If you want to drop out of law school and ruin your own life, go ahead! But leave Jess out of it!"

"Cece, wait, that's not—" Jess grabbed Cece's arm, trying to put some space between her and Nick. "Don't say that, that's not fair—"

"No. No, she's right, Jess. She's right." Nick lifted his hands in defeat, although Jess could tell he was both furious and a little shattered by Cece's words. He looked right into Jess' wide blue eyes. "Don't let anyone hold you back. And that's all I'll do. I'll hold you back."

He turned and was at the door before Jess could figure out what to say.

"See you in class. Maybe."

The door slammed shut behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** The rating change finally happened! That said, I have a small confession: I've never written smut before. I've read it (an embarrassing amount of it if I'm honest), but I've never tried writing my own. Hopefully I did an okay job! I hope you enjoy it. I very much appreciate all of you and all of your kind support and patience! You're all very, very amazing!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two  
** **Chapter Six.**

The fight that Jess and Cece had over Nick was worse than any of the fights they'd had before over the course of their long friendship. It ended with hurt feelings, slammed doors, and Jess' overwhelming realization that it was her procrastination that had made their present situation this bad. She had been putting off dealing with the hard stuff for so long, she wasn't sure if she could put everything right again. Maybe she couldn't fix everything that had gone wrong…but she had to try. There was only one way to start fixing this mess and she knew it.

Normally she'd ask Cece's advice for matters of the heart. This time, however, her best friend had locked her bedroom door and cranked up her music, and anyway Jess couldn't forget how broken Nick had looked after the other's hurtful words. There would be no help from that end.

She walked over to her tall mirror and bit her lip; she was a mess. It took a while to clean the mascara from her eyes and cheeks, and her skin was a little blotchy from all the high emotions and yelling.

She stared at herself for a long time. Then she stood, changed her clothes, and sent a quick text. She took a deep breath before leaving the apartment. Nick had been right: it was time to go after what she wanted and not let anyone hold her back.

 **-22-**

She met Sam at a park not too far from his apartment. At first he hadn't noticed her downcast continence, but after a few minutes he seemed to realize what was about to happen. A frown appeared on his handsome face, and Jess wondered for a second if she was about to make a huge mistake. But only for a second.

"Sam, I can't be your girlfriend anymore," she said.

"I know you're going through a hard time right now, Jess, but if you stick it out I think you'll see that everything is going to turn out great." He tilted his head, staring at her. His words were kind and might even have been true, but there was a curious lack of emotion in his tone. He liked her, she knew that. She liked him too. But not enough.

"I don't want that future. I don't want to be a lawyer. And I think I'm falling for someone else." Her natural instinct was to touch him, to impart some sort of comfort after such a harsh truth. She forced herself to keep her hands at her side. She couldn't give him any mixed signals.

He nodded. His tone of voice was pretty final. "I thought this might be coming."

"It's not just Nick. It's all of it. If I keep trying to finish law school, I'm going to fail. I just don't want it, I'm not passionate about it. Being a lawyer sounds like a prison sentence to me, not like a future."

"What are you going to do instead?"

She shrugged. "I may switch to child development or social science…but no matter what I'm going to get my teaching credential. I don't know how I'm going to afford it, but that's the only thing I want. It's what I've always wanted, it's just no one was listening to me."

Her dad was going to be furious, but she was certain. She'd been certain since she was twelve years old. Being a lawyer was a difficult and respectable career, but Jess was never going to be successful at it.

Sam didn't seem to know what to say. He blew out a long breath and stared past her for a few minutes. Then at last he nodded. He seemed resigned to the fact that she was ending things, and his shoulders slumped a little as he focused on her again.

"This is really what you want?"

"It really is." She nodded. Then, softer: "But I hope we can be friends."

"Maybe." He hesitated, then accepted her hug. "Are you okay to go home?"

When she assured him that she would be fine getting home alone, he said goodnight and left her. All in all, it had been a very amicable break up. Jess supposed that was because it had been so long in coming. Sam didn't need to say that he'd seen the end as soon as Nick had come into her life, and there was some truth to it. Nick had captured her attention like no one else had, he made it impossible for her to stay away.

In fact, she was tired of _trying_ to stay away. She had a different plan altogether: she was going to seduce him.

 **-22-**

It sounded like an easy plan. It should have been an easy plan. It _would_ have been an easy plan, but Nick had pretty much disappeared. He didn't come to class anymore, and Schmidt refused to tell her anything. He'd clearly taken Cece's side in their argument. She looked for Winston to see if he could help her, but he didn't seem to be coming to classes either. Dammit, why hadn't she asked where he lived before now? Was he in one of the dorms?

It took two days for her to get the information out of a very reluctant Schmidt. As it turned out, he hadn't so much taken Cece's side in the argument as he was protecting his best friend.

"He's very sensitive. I'm not sure you're good for him." Schmidt looked her up and down. "He's been pathetic all week. I had to beg him to shower. I crushed vitamins into cup-of-soups because he hasn't been outside in days."

"Just…give me a chance to fix this. Please Schmidt?" Jess batted her eyelashes up at Schmidt. He made an incredulous noise.

"Please. Your big blue eyes aren't going to work on me. I'm immune." He glared at her, but when she kept staring at him pleadingly, he gave in. With perhaps the most long-suffering sigh she'd ever heard, he rolled his eyes and told her which dorm they were staying in.

"If you hurt him, I will end you. I will dance on your grave."

"Seriously, Schmidt? That seems a little harsh. And I have no intention of hurting him."

"Just…he's been through enough. Treat him right." For once, Schmidt sounded like he really meant what he was saying. It occurred to Jess then just how much he cared for Nick. She crossed her heart and kissed his cheek. It was finally time to put her plan into motion.

 **-22-**

She'd gone home, found her sexiest underwear, and covered herself in glittery body dust. She stood in front of her mirror and tilted her head. She tapped her chin, then tried a tap number. She turned and wiggled her ass at her refection. Then she shook her head. The lingerie was nice, and she hoped she'd have a chance to wear it for Nick in the future, but this time…

She returned to her closet and considered her options, then smiled when she spotted her old trench coat.

 **-22-**

It took Nick a long time to answer the door when Jess knocked. When he finally did, he looked a bit messy. He hadn't shaved in a couple of days and he'd probably been sleeping in that T-shirt and those jeans just a few minutes before. She was very nervous; she had to resist the urge to make sure her ass was covered by her coat every five seconds and while her heels were very sexy, they were also really starting to crush her toes. He stared at her, then blinked a couple of times very rapidly, as though he thought he was dreaming.

"Hi Nick," she said, and she didn't have to fake a breathy voice. Her heart was pounding in her throat.

"Jess." He hesitated. "What are you doing here?"

"I got into a huge fight with Cece." Her fingers clutched her coat. "I broke up with Sam. I told my father I'm switching majors and I'm not sure he's talking to me."

He stared at her with wide eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You said I should go after what I wanted and not let anyone stop me. You were right." She took in a deep, shuddering breath. "Invite me in."

He stood aside and she stepped into his dorm room. It was cluttered and there were a couple of old pizza boxes lying around. It smelled a lot like beer and Old Spice. Surprisingly, she didn't mind. This wasn't exactly her erotic film-noir daydream of a setting, but as long as she and Nick ended up together, it didn't really matter.

It finally seemed to dawn on Nick that Jess was standing in his dorm room in a long coat and heels. He swallowed, his eyes roaming over her legs, over her curves, to rest on her face.

"You broke up with Sam?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

"He wasn't the one I wanted."

It was such a simple sentence, but she could see that it was having a huge effect on Nick. He looked as though everything he ever wanted was just about to be handed to him, and he wasn't quite sure how to take it. His hands were curling and uncurling against the sides of his legs.

"Who do you want?" His voice cracked, but he didn't break eye contact. She answered him by slipping off her coat.

It was a ridiculously powerful feeling, standing in front of him in nothing but high heels. He let out a low groan as he drank in the sight of her, all of her, standing before him. She thought she'd immediately want to hide or cover herself, but the heat of his gaze only made her more confident. She lifted her chin and smiled at him, and he made a low, growling sort of noise that had anticipation shooting through her veins.

" _Fuck_ , Jess…"

He took two long steps and pulled her into his arms, his mouth colliding with hers. She moaned the instant he kissed her, parting her lips for him as his tongue slid over them. His mouth was hot and he tasted like smooth Irish whiskey. She stroked her tongue against his and he let out a groan. They were both desperate for this, and his hands were greedy as they slid up and down her sides and over her ass. He dug his fingers into her backside, then hoisted her up. She gasped against his mouth, wrapping her legs around him.

" _Nick…"_ He was so hard, and she ground herself against him, whimpering into their kisses. He moved again, his mouth never leaving hers, and her back collided with the wall.

"Fuck, you're already so wet." He was breathless, his voice low and dark. With her propped against the wall, he could slide one hand between her legs. She cried out as his fingers slipped to her core, tracing her entrance and then dragging up to find her clit.

"Oh God, oh my God…" Her eyes rolled back and his mouth moved to her neck, sucking at the line of her throat as he rubbed her, a little wildly at first and then, _sweet fuck_ , just right, just like that—

"Please, _please—"_

"Cum for me," he growled. His teeth caught her ear, tugged at it. She arched her back as he slid two fingers deep inside of her. His thumb circled her clit as she rocked against his hand. Then he sucked her nipple into his mouth and rolled his tongue over it, and she came apart, keening his name.

She was still shaking from her orgasm as he carried her to his bed. While he lowered her to the sheets, his lips found hers. His kisses now were soft, sweet…he was savoring this as much as she was. He continued to press slow kisses to her lips as she trembled, his hands sliding over her body. His fingers traced every inch of her skin, pausing to tease her nipples or stroke the insides of her thighs. She reveled in the attention for a few moments, and then impatience took over.

She tugged off his shirt and dragged her hands over his chest. Sam hadn't had any chest hair, none of her boyfriends had. She found Nick's unbearably sexy. Then she tugged at the button on his jeans. Her hand slipped inside and she wrapped her fingers around him, groaning. He was big, bigger than she was used to. She could feel him throbbing in her hand.

"I want you inside of me," she whispered, licking his ear. "Please?"

His cock twitched in her hand but he shook his head at her. His eyes were dark, hot pools. He trailed his way down her body, his mouth trailing over her and leaving waves of pleasure in their wake. With one smooth motion, he hooked her legs over her shoulders and spread her open with his fingers. She gripped his hair and he gave her a small, cocky smile before he lowered his mouth to her.

"Nick!" She jerked as his tongue slid over her clit, tugging on his hair without meaning to. He only chuckled and gave her another long, slow lick. A moment later he was sliding his tongue in and out of her, and she was crying out his name again and again.

"I need you, I need you in me, please…please, Nick, please…"

Two, then three long fingers teased their way into her, curling leisurely until they brushed that spot inside of her just right. She cried out, her hips thrusting up against his hand.

"God Jess, you're so fucking perfect. You make me so goddamn hard."

He was driving her crazy, his fingers stroking her into a frenzy. She was right on the edge: her whole body was shaking, desperate to cum, but he wouldn't let her. Not yet. He teased her until she was a trembling mess, begging for him, and then finally he spread her legs wide. His eyes were on hers as he moved between her thighs, and he rubbed his cock up and down her slit. She bucked as it slid over her clit, and she dragged her fingernails hard down his back.

"Condom?" he asked, his voice strained from the effort of holding back.

"Pill," she told him, trying desperately to pull him inside of her. She had to have him, had to his big dick stretching her—he was driving her so insane— The head of his cock slid inside of her and his back arched.

"Christ, _Jessica…_ "

He couldn't seem to stop himself from thrusting all the way in, and his head dropped to her shoulder. He bit her there before thrusting again, so slow.

"More, give me more," she demanded, catching his ear in her teeth and tugging.

"You're so fucking tight…so fucking wet…" He moved faster, using quicker, shorter thrusts that had her bucking up to meet him. She was making sounds she didn't recognize, throaty and needy, but then so was he: low, desperate sounds of ecstasy that were making her even more crazy.

"I'm going to cum…oh God, Nick, I'm gonna cum!"

His hand slipped down between their legs and his rough fingertip teased her clit. She buried her face in his neck as she shattered around him, her hips grinding hard against him as fireworks burst behind her eyes. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, there was nothing but bliss as he groaned her name, still thrusting into her. He grasped her hips, unable to hold back anymore. She felt so goddamn good, so perfect, he was fucking her and she was clawing at him, her body still convulsing from her orgasm.

"Yes…oh God yes, yes! Nick!" She could feel him swelling, and then he came hard. His hips bucked against her as he gasped her name. His arms were shaking and nearly gave out as he rode waves of ecstasy. Still trembling, he rolled onto his side and pulled her with him, curling her againt his chest as he pulled in short, harsh breaths.

" _Jesus._ " He stared at the ceiling, then looked down at her in awe. "I mean…that was…"

She was pressing as much of her body against his as she could, reveling in how warm he was, in the fact that this was Nick's bed and she was in his arms.

"Amazing. Better than amazing," she agreed. He grinned at her. She'd never seen him so happy, so at peace. She touched his face and he surprised her by leaning into her hand, then turning his lips into her palm and pressing a kiss there.

"This is really what you want?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in her answer. Nick grinned at her and then pulled a blanket up around them. Safe in his arms, Jess let herself drift asleep. Life was finally starting to make sense, and whatever was coming, she could handle it with Nick at her side.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This chapter went in a weird direction, but I enjoy how it came out. It was REALLY weird to write about the holidays in March... This is a pretty fluffy chapter! I have a lot of Ness feelings after "Sam Again" and they were all tender and sweet so...that probably came out here. If you haven't seen the episode yet, it helps to bring back hope for Nick and Jess! At last!

* * *

 **Twenty-Two  
** **Chapter Seven.**

Jess woke up two hours after falling asleep snuggled against Nick's chest. She felt a little achy but mostly she was just…satisfied. Everything else in her life had gone horribly wrong, but this? Waking up naked in Nick's arms? This was right. Happiness threatened to overwhelm her as she listened to his heartbeat with her head pressed against his chest.

Much as she would have liked to stay like that all day, Schmidt could come back at any time. She didn't want to be undressed when that happened, so she carefully untangled herself from a still-slumbering Nick and hunted for her trench coat. It might be a good idea for her to go get dressed and meet up with him later, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. She pulled on her trench coat and wished she'd thought to at least tuck a pair of panties in one of the pockets before coming over here.

"You can borrow some sweatpants and a shirt if you want," Nick said with a yawn from behind her. She turned back to find him giving her a sleepy grin. "In case you're feeling a little…exposed."

"You like it when I'm exposed."

"Hell yes I do." He moved over to sit on the edge of the bed and caught her arm. A gentle tug sent her into his arms and she laughed as he pressed his cheek against her breasts. "Not thrilled about anyone else enjoying it when you're exposed."

She ran a hand through his hair. Then she sighed and kissed the top of his head. "I should get some clothes and then I'd really better try and patch things up with my dad in time for Christmas."

"Are you really doing it? Changing your major?" he asked, looking up at her. She loved his eyes: they were so warm and expressive. She slid her arms around his neck.

"I am. Dad is furious. We're far enough along that I'd better finish the semester…but then…" She shrugged. "I'll see an academic advisor and we'll find the fastest route to a degree and a teaching credential."

"You're going to be a super hot teacher," he replied with a wicked little grin. "You can give me detention whenever you want."

She swatted at him gently, but he pulled her down for a slow kiss and she forgot whatever retort she was going to shoot back at him. He pushed the coat off of her shoulders and she sighed as she settled into his lap, naked again. Any thought of leaving deserted her as his hands began exploring her again.

 **-22-**

It took Jess a few more days to convince Cece to talk to her. It was remarkable how well the model could avoid her in their tiny apartment, but Jess finally cornered her. She explained that she had broken up with Sam and would be pursuing teaching.

"And I'm with Nick now. We haven't…we haven't labeled it or anything, but we're together. I know you don't approve but I couldn't keep it up anymore. I was forcing myself to get up every day and live a life I was starting to _hate._ Nick helped me be brave enough to change all of that." Jess was staring into Cece's eyes, willing her to understand. Cece took a deep breath. She didn't say anything for a long time, and then she reached out and took Jess' hands.

"I don't hate Nick, okay? I just didn't want you to throw away everything for a crush on the 'bad boy.' I knew you didn't like law school but I didn't realize you were struggling so much." She gave Jess' hands a squeeze. "I should have known you'd never be happy as a lawyer. I think I did know, I just thought you were doing so well…"

"Can we be friends again? Because I really can't handle not being friends with you."

Cece graced her with a grin. "Yeah, alright. Friends again."

Jess threw herself in her best friend's arms and they hugged each other tight. Friendship reaffirmed, they rushed to get ingredients for s'mores and headed to the gas burners to melt the marshmellows.

"So…has Schmidt asked you out yet?" Jess asked. Cece rolled her eyes.

"I'm beginning to think he's never going to have the nerve."

"He just wants it to be special. I think he's on his tenth or so plan…"

"Maybe I'll ask him," Cece mused. Jess nudged her shoulder with her own.

"I knew you wanted to touch his pee-pee," she said.

"If you ever sing that song again I'll impale you with my marshmellow stick," Cece warned her. "Now help me figure out how to corner Schmidt and ask him out."

 **-22-**

For the first time in three years, Jess was not flying back to Portland for the holiday break. Her mother had said something about coming south for Christmas, and her dad was still pretty angry about the law school thing (he'd get over it before Christmas Day, she was mostly sure of that), so Jess and Cece decorated their apartment with cheap decorations and _a lot_ of glitter. Cece had included Hanukkah decorations for Schmidt, and Jess had a whole Pinterest board of traditional holiday foods she was eager to try preparing.

The girls had just finished taping tinsel to the inside of their front door when Winston showed up. He was completely frazzled and he wouldn't quite meet Jess' gaze as he stepped into their apartment. The decorations were lost on him as he was far too distracted to notice them. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and shuffled his feet.

"Heyyyy, Jess." He was clearly nervous and Jess felt her heart rate pick up in response. "I, uh…I have some _interesting_ news."

"What is it? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine. You know. Everything's good." Winston didn't even sound like he was convincing himself, and Cece grabbed his shoulders and gave him a little shake.

"Just say it, Winston! You're freaking everyone out."

He winced and peeked up at Jess. "I just thought you should know that, uh…Caroline's back."

"Caroline…Nick's ex?" Suddenly it was like the floor had dropped out from under Jess' feet. She and Nick had only been seeing each other for a few weeks, and she hadn't dared ask if they were exclusively dating yet. Winston and Schmidt had both warned her of the effect Nick's ex had over him, and how she periodically showed up just to, or so it seemed, mess with his head. "What do you mean, back?"

"She came to his dorm room yesterday. He was out with you and Schmidt gave her an earful, but she seemed pretty determined to tell him how much she misses him." Winston shook his head. "I haven't seen him this happy in a long time, Jess. I don't think you have a lot to worry about. But I thought you should know."

"Thanks, Winston." Jess couldn't keep the dismay out of her voice, but she offered him a plate full of decorated sugar cookies anyway. She passed another batch to him, this one full of decorated menorahs and mixed with blue and white frosted Jordan almonds. "Those are for Schmidt."

"Hey Jess. I really mean it. Nick hasn't been this happy since we were kids." Winston gave her shoulder a squeeze before taking Schmidt's treats. "Just…don't let her start making him feel bad about himself, okay?"

Jess thought of her (almost) boyfriend, of how lonely and broken he'd seemed and how easily his confidence was frayed, and she vowed to herself that she'd never let anyone make him feel bad about himself again. Not if she could help it.

"I promise," she said out loud to Winston. He nodded and thanked her for the cookies, then left the apartment. Cece gave her a hug.

"Go find him, babe," she said, and Jess nodded. "We can finish decorating later. Let me know if you still want to host that holiday party this weekend."

"Thanks for being amazing, Cece," Jess replied, and she grabbed her purse and went off in search of Nick.

 **-22-**

She found Nick, of all places, at the law library. Schmidt had tipped her off when she'd texted him for help. She and Nick had spent a lot of time in the law library over the years, but it was somewhere he went only grudgingly. She spotted him today toward the back, flipping through a huge volume of Black's Law Dictionary. His brow was furrowed and he obviously wasn't paying too much attention to the pages of the book.

"Nick," she whispered, touching his arm. "Hey."

"Hey Jess." He sounded a little miserable, and her heart broke. Obviously Caroline had found him before she did.

"Hi." She sat down beside him but he shook his head. They couldn't really talk in here, so he took her hand and led her up to the roof of the library. Jess was certain that some sort of alarm would go off when they pushed open the door that led outside, but then she realized that it had been disabled long ago. Maybe by Nick himself, or some other stressed out law student looking for a place to take a break alone.

"Winston told me about Caroline," she said. They sat together on the concrete, and then Nick stretched out on his back to look up at the sky.

"Yeah. She really has great timing, you know? I just start to feel good about myself and then, bam! The universe sends me her to remind he how fucked up I am." His laugh was bitter and her heart broke a little more.

"You're not fucked up, Nick," she told him gently. He waved a hand.

"Of course I am. I'm anti-social, I'm a jerk, I'm always _so_ angry. I hate what I'm doing and I hate where I'm going. You are literally the only good thing I've got going on, and I'm terrified that if you see who I really am, you'll leave."

"Well, I don't think those things are true and I'm not going anywhere." She hugged her knees to her chest since she wasn't sure he wanted her to hug him. "And you can be angry at me all you want, because I know the truth about you, Miller."

He peered at her, his lips pulled into a deep frown. "What truth is that, Day?"

"You care about people. You care about people a _lot_ , much more than you care about yourself." She turned toward him, forcing him to lock gazes with her. "You're not as broken as you think you are. And you have a great heart that you're trying to protect because you've really been let down before. Well, I'm not going to let you down."

Emotions flickered through his eyes much too quickly for her to make sense of, and he turned his head away from her. He didn't say anything, and a moment later she realized it was because he was overwhelmed. She curled up against his back and let the silence stretch. Her arm slipped around his waist and she listened to his heartbeat for a while.

Finally, finally he rolled over to face her, resting his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes as he pulled her closer, and his lips brushed over hers oh, so gently.

"I'm not going to let you down either, Jess. I swear to you, I'm never going to let you down."

 **-22-**

Two days later, Jess and Cece hosted their first California holiday cheer party. The guys showed up, and the girls booed when they discovered only Winston had bothered to wear an ugly Christmas sweater even though they'd made them for all three of them. Cece was wearing her own with pride and somehow she'd even managed to make it a fashion statement and she pouted until Schmidt finally pulled his on as well. It was decorated with a menorah (which had come out a little crooked but it was the thought that counted) and he looked ridiculous in it.

"I love it," Cece told him, and before he could retort, she kissed him full on the mouth. When she pulled away, he stared at her with his mouth hanging wide open.

"I…I am never taking this thing off. They're going to bury me in it, I swear—"

"Shut up," Cece groaned, and then she pulled him in for another kiss. Winston squeezed past them with a slightly disgusted look, muttering something about blocking the entrance with tonsil hockey. He smiled at Jess and scooped her into a hug.

"I invited Aly," he told her, and she cheered.

"I can't wait to meet her!"

"Just wait until you see her, Jess…I mean, she's…you'll see, she's just…" He trailed off, tongue-tied, and she gave him another hug.

"If you like her, she's lucky. Very lucky. I hope she gets here soon."

Nick wandered over with his hands behind his back. He was fighting a smile as he drew closer, and Jess' heart tripped and thudded hard. She wanted to freeze time, to live in this moment forever: with him surrounded by Christmas lights and smiling at her with crinkles around his eyes. It hit her then, all of it, the full force of her feelings for him, and it was way too soon but she couldn't help it.

They said that when you know, you know. Well, Jess _knew_.

"Hey Jess." His voice was a little too nonchalant, and cheeky little smile was contagious. Jess grinned back at him.

"What've you got there, Nick?" she asked, trying to peek around him.

"Oh, this?" He pulled a present out from behind his back and gave it a playful shake. "Nothing really. Just your Christmas present, no big deal."

She reached for it. "For me? I _love_ presents."

He held it out of her reach and leaned down to kiss her, pulling her tight against his chest with his free arm. "I'm not at all sure you've been a good girl."

"Nick," she whispered in his ear, "if you keep kissing me like that, I'm about to be a _very_ bad girl."

He groaned and kissed her again. "Can we sneak out?"

"It's my party and it just started!"

"Tease," he accused, although she could tell he loved it. "Promise we can slip away later?"

"I promise." She made a lunge for her present while he was distracted and laughed triumphantly as she got her hands on her present. She spun away so he wouldn't grab it back out of her hands and began tearing open the paper. With a shake of his head, Nick slid his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest, watching from over her shoulder as she unwrapped her gift.

Inside was a canvas bag with her initials on it and it was full of teaching supplies: markers, pens, a binder for lesson plans, a whiteboard eraser and a name plaque that read "Ms. Day." Tears sprung to her eyes as he kissed her temple. Then she felt him reach into his pocket. He pressed something small and cool into her palm, and when she opened it, she found a silver pendent shaped like an apple on a delicate chain.

"Nick…" She had no idea what to say. She was completely blown away, and he kissed her temple again before helping her put on the necklace. She turned in his arms and kissed him for real, nearly knocking him over in her enthusiasm.

"I'm proud of you, Jess," he told her. The look in his eyes gave her courage and she took a deep breath. She didn't care what anyone else said, she didn't care if it was too soon or if they hadn't put a label on it. She knew how she felt and she was pretty sure he felt the same way.

"I love you, Nick," she told him.

"Well, that's pretty great, Jess, because I love you too," he replied, holding her tight. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Some of you might be sad because there was no smut (honestly I was a little shocked myself), but I promise there will be more sexy scenes coming up. That said, this story will probably wrap up pretty soon, but I'm already working on another AU called "Out of Context" so I hope you'll check that one out too! Also, I really thought about causing more trouble with Caroline's character...and then decided I didn't want to waste my time on that and derail what's happening with Nick and Jess (in this fic, but she'll be in "Out of Context" so we'll see what happens there).


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** This is the last chapter of my little college AU, and I hope it's been fun to read because it has definitely been fun to write! This is a SUPER fluffy chapter and probably my favorite. All of you have encouraged me so much and made my entrance into this fandom so amazing and fun, and I'm really grateful to all of you! Next up is "Out of Context." Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for everything, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter of "Twenty-Two."

* * *

 **Twenty-Two  
** **Chapter Eight.**

 _One Year and Some Months Later…_

Jessica was buzzing with nervous energy. The heat alone discouraged her sort of steady hyperactivity but she was too excited to keep still. She could never get over the fact that summer's official start was over a month away but the temperature was already climbing into the high eighties. She straightened the table cloth and checked on the homemade cheesecake for the hundredth time in a half-hour. It was still perfect, waiting in the fridge. She'd managed to find the one place in Los Angeles that did a true-blue, no kidding Chicago style deep dish pizza. It would be here soon as well, but first—

She heard the key in the lock and turned to face the door, smiling brightly. The apartment, which was barely more than a studio, was sparkling clean. After she'd finished grading papers for the professor she was assisting, she'd had no other place to expend her energy. As a result, every surface in the place gleamed and it all smelled a little bit like lemon.

"You're home!" Jess threw herself in Nick's arms as soon as he'd cleared the doorway, and he let out a loud _oofh!_ as their bodies collided, but he was grinning at her when she pulled away long enough to kiss his cheek.

"Hey, Jess. It looks great in here," he said. "You must have worked really hard."

They'd moved in together six months ago. Sometimes Jess missed living with Cece, but her friend was only fifteen minutes away, and they still saw each other nearly every day. Schmidt had pretty much moved into the old apartment in her place, and she knew for a fact that he was already planning a proposal—one that, if the length of time it had taken him to actually ask Cece out was considered, would probably take place in about five years or so.

"I did. I wanted everything to be perfect. This is a special day."

"Oh God, I didn't forget an anniversary or a birthday or anything, did I?" he groaned. She gave him a little shove. He knew _exactly_ why May 13th was special, and she could tell because of how tense his shoulders were. He was trying to act casual, but he couldn't fool her.

"Don't mess with me, Miller." She gave him a playful little push toward the laptop, which was open and waiting for him. She'd already pulled up the login page for him; all he had to do was sit down and type in his information, and then they'd finally know after months of waiting and even more months of intense preparation and studying.

Nick looked at the computer and took in a deep breath. He was nervous, she could tell by the way his fingers kept rolling up into fists and then stretching out again. He was also bouncing his left heel, something he only did when he was really worked up or anxious. Jess reached up and gave his shoulders a rub.

"We both know you made it. Now go prove me right."

He glanced at her and she shivered at the warmth in his eyes. He made her feel like the most special woman in the world with just one single look. She grinned up at him and gave him another little nudge before darting into the kitchen to grab the champagne.

She sat next to him on their small couch with the bottle ready to pop as he logged into the California State Bar Exam website. Now it was her foot dancing around in nervy anticipation. With a deep breath and closed eyes, Nick hit enter.

It took him a moment to work up the nerve to peek. Then he stared in utter disbelief, his mouth hanging open. Jess watched his face closely, almost afraid to look at the results herself. Finally she tore her gaze away from him and scanned the information on the computer screen.

"Nick—oh my God—"

"Jess…I…I can't believe it…I—"

With a gratifying pop, the champagne cork flew out of the bottle and bubbly golden liquid frothed from the top as the pair of them both burst into astounded, joyful laughter.

"Congratulations, Nick!" Jess cried, pouring the champagne into a flute and handing it to him.

"I did it! I passed the bar exam!" He couldn't stay sitting. The second the champagne flute was in his hand, he darted to his feet. "I _passed!_ "

Jess joined him with her own glass and they clinked them together. He pulled her in for a passionate kiss, even going so far as to tip her back over his arm a little. She nearly dropped her champagne as she wrapped her arms around him. Their kisses deepened and Jess let the world shrink down to this, the two of them celebrating this incredible achievement of his. She was just about to take the champagne away so they could carry on the celebration with both hands when the doorbell rang.

"Don't get that," Nick murmured against her lips, fumbling with the zipper on the back of her dress.

"I have to," Jess replied, wishing now she had scheduled the pizza delivery for an hour or so later. She pulled out of his arms with reluctance, straightened out her clothing and headed for the door.

It _was_ the pizza guy holding and he had come bearing three boxes that smelled like heaven. He wasn't alone on the step; behind him were Cece, Schmidt, Winston and Aly, all bearing gifts and hopeful expressions. Jess knew that her radiant grin was a dead giveaway, but she couldn't stop it from spreading over her lips.

"Come in!" She signed for the pizza and gave the guy a twenty dollar tip in a moment of exuberance. He was trying to thank her but there were six people talking all at once, so she just gave the guy a smile and a wave and ushered her friends inside.

"Nick the lawyer!" Winston yelled to general cheers. "Are you going to use your powers for good? Because you know, once I get through the LAPD physical, we could be operating on the same side of the law. You're totally going prosecutor, right?"

Before Nick could answer, Schmidt nearly tackled him. Jess had to look twice to make sure, but those were in fact tears of joy leaking from his eyes as he clamped Nick against his chest.

"I'm so proud of you man, I'm so proud."

"Hey, thanks Schmidt." Nick hugged him back, and though later he would vehemently deny it, Jess was pretty sure there were tears in his eyes too. Cece had to pry her boyfriend off before she could give him a hug too. The next thing she knew everyone was pressing in and it had turned into what was unmistakably a hug ball. More champagne was popped and passed around, and Nick was suitably impressed by the authentic Chicago deep dish pizzas Jess had tracked down. Once everyone had food and drink, the party got started in earnest. Winston cued the music and Schmidt began trying to figure out how to put a lawyer twist on True American, while Nick tried to explain to Cece that he still had to get certified and then hired before he was really a lawyer. She waved him off and insisted on referring to him as The Prosecution for the rest of the evening. This nickname was quickly picked up by the rest of the group and Nick just looked at Jess and shook his head with a wry smile.

"We picked these clowns to be our best friends, do you believe it?" he asked, looping a warm arm around her waist.

"What do you think they're going to say when you tell them you're going to become a novelist?"

"I think I'll wait until tomorrow to tell them."

"Probably a good idea," she agreed with a laugh, but before she could say more she had to run after Schmidt before he decided to use their hammer as a gavel for their game.

 **-22-**

All in all, it had been a very good party. Jess smiled at the memory of it as she headed to class the next Monday. The year was almost over, and she had just two more semesters before she could become a teacher. She was a TA in the meantime, and happily her father had finally given in and accepted her chosen career path. It had taken months of talking and a carefully outlined five-year plan to convince him that she would be both happy and financially stable, even if she would have to stretch things a little further than she would have had to as a lawyer.

Things were falling into place. She gave a happy sigh and tipped her head back to enjoy the feel of the late spring sunshine on her face. Then her cellphone rang.

It was Cece, and she sounded out of breath. "Hey, Jess, I need you to come over to the sculpture garden right now."

"What? Is everything okay?" She couldn't imagine anything going wrong in UCLA's Franklin D Murphy sculpture garden and she didn't even know that Cece knew about it since she wasn't a student or particularly interested in sculpture in the first place. Still, it didn't occur to her to waste time asking too many questions when her friend was so obviously upset.

"Just come quick, okay? Nick needs you. We're just a little bit past the entrance, you should find us no problem." Cece hung up and Jess stared at her phone for a second before turning around and rushing toward the garden. It wasn't too far but she had to force herself to keep from running. She tried to tell herself that it couldn't be a medical emergency because if it was, Cece would have told her to meet them at a hospital and not in a garden. What else could it be?

 _Don't panic_ , she reminded herself as she finally got to the entrance of the sculpture garden. She rushed along the central path, scanning over the art and grassy areas until she spotted the familiar figures of her friends. It was clear even from a distance that no one was hurt: they were all standing under some flowering trees with Nick at the center. She let out a deep sigh of relief. Since there was no panicky movement and no blood, she figured that whatever Nick needed her for was not the disaster she had been bracing herself to handle.

She crossed the grass toward them, waving as she got closer. Cece, Schmidt, Aly and Winston were all grinning at her. They looked full of nervousness and anticipation, just as they had on the evening they'd all celebrated Nick passing the bar exam. Curiosity overwhelmed Jess as she came to a stop, and she tried to read her boyfriend's expression. He was the only one that looked serious. In fact, he looked desperately anxious although he tried to smile for her like the others.

"Cece, you scared the hell out of me. Nick, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I promise. I'm sorry we scared you." He reached out and took her hands. "And I know you have class this afternoon, but Winston's about to head off to police academy and Cece's going to Paris tomorrow, and I work tonight so…it had to be now."

"What has to be now?" she asks. Nick squeezed her hands, looking down at their intertwined fingers for a while before speaking. Jess glanced around at everyone else, hoping someone would clue her in, but they were all waiting just as impatiently as her. Cece was gripping Schmidt's hand and Aly was rubbing Winston's shoulder, but these gestures weren't telling her anything, so she turned her gaze back to Nick. He licked his lips and finally summoned the courage to look up into her eyes.

"Growing up, I didn't think love was real. I saw the way my dad kept leaving my ma and I thought that all those movies and all those songs had to be wrong. I just figured it was something temporary and exciting that faded into something kinda awful."

He was holding her gaze with more confidence now, his determination was growing by the second. He pulled her a step closer to him, narrowing her focus to just the two of them.

"Then I met you. You knocked me right on my ass, Jessica. I fell in love with you hard. And, I gotta be honest with you Jess; I panicked a little bit. I wasn't in a good place and I didn't have anything to offer you. I tried to stay away but I just couldn't. And then I found out that you were a little bit lost too, and that was it. I couldn't keep away any longer. And then things started to change. We started to become friends and _I_ started to change. I didn't fall out of love with you, I only kept falling harder. Time went on and I realized that maybe I could offer you something if I just kept moving forward. So I did everything I could to pass the bar exam. I did everything I could so that I could stand right here, right now, and give you my whole heart."

Jess couldn't breathe, couldn't think—all she could do was stare at him with huge eyes and slightly parted lips because it had finally dawned on her what was happening here. Her heart was beating so hard against her ribcage that she thought she'd probably feel bruised in the morning, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything but the question she was hoping so much for was coming.

"I have something to offer you now. I have a future. I'm going to be a lawyer or an author or both at the same time. Whatever you want, I'm going to work my ass off so I can give it to you. And I learned that from you, Jess, because that's what you do for me. And I want us to work together now to make each other happy, and maybe one day to make a couple of kids happy, and I don't really care where else life takes us as long as you're with me. So…"

He took a deep breath, pulled something small out of his pocket, and sank down to one knee.

"Jessica Day, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" he asked, opening the small box to reveal a beautifully vintage diamond ring. When his voice cracked a little on the word honor, Jess burst into tears because the shock and joy were overwhelming. She covered her mouth with her hands, then hid her whole face for a second while she tried to control herself long enough to say the word he was no doubt dying to hear. She wasn't trying to make him squirm but she couldn't seem to gather herself for a few seconds.

Finally she dropped to her knees, threw her arms around his neck and cried, "Yes!" He pulled back just far enough to kiss her as his shaking hands took hers to slide the ring on her finger. They kissed for a few long moments and then there was a popping sound from behind them. They pulled back both smiling almost impossibly wide, and turned to see Winston splashing sparkling apple cider into plastic champagne flutes. Schmidt and Cece were pulling Tupperware full of food out of their bags and Aly was spreading a blanket out over the grass.

"I didn't think alcohol would be allowed on campus, but this stuff is pretty delicious," Winston said, passing Jess a glass. She laughed and thanked him as they all settled down for a celebratory picnic.

"To Nick and Jess," Cece said, lifting her champagne flute in a toast.

"To the future," Jess added, and the six of them clinked their cups together and drank. Whatever happened, Jess knew that she could handle anything with these people at her side. Most of all, she could handle it with Nick. And that was as much—and more—than she could ever have hoped for.


End file.
